Behind This Mask
by Mithua
Summary: Lily has never felt accepted by her school mates. She becomes anti-social and quite a delinquent at her school. Her parents give up hope for her future, until, this flaming girl receives this one letter. L/J, please R/R! *NEW CHAPTER UP!*
1. Tiger Lily

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. They belong to the goddess among us mere mortals…JKR! Anything you might not recognise is mine!

A/N: Hey all! I'm back! Nope, I'm not dead, yet. But I'm back with this L/J story for you! This idea was fresh in my head and I just had to write it down! I know I'm not finished my other one, but I just had to write it down! I might use some songs in this story, and I think they'd be slightly more…err…modern than what was heard at the time of the 70's. So…I hope you enjoy this story!

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This story is dedicated to every reviewer I have ever had. And to my nicest, coolest, poetic beta-reader, Snowlily! I hope you all enjoy it!

Behind This Mask.

By Mithua.

Chapter 1: Tiger Lily.

Crash!

Gasps were heard in the crowd. So much power, so much energy, so much ferocity. The boy was struggling to stay conscious as blood dripped down the side of his head, and his nose bled heavily. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He wiped the blood from his nose and clutched at a wound at his side. The ground around him was scorched with burn marks, he hadn't known where they had come from, but he knew that only she could have made them. He didn't know how, but he just knew she did. His eyes met the cold green eyes that shone with anger. Who would have thought that this pale, quiet, girl could pack a powerful punch. Her curly red hair had been tied in a ponytail that went half way down her back was now flaming and flying with the wind. One perfect lock of red curls blew across her pale face. Her knuckles shone slightly red and her hard ring had some blood dripping from it. She wore her trademark baggy flare trousers that she had been wearing ever since her gothic cousin had pointed them out to her. A long chain went from her front pocket to her back pocket, holding her wallet in place. She wore a black top that clung to her, and she looked very menacing. Yes, this was our Lily Evans.

"Just look at what this 'freak' did," she said in a cold voice and turned around. The crowd immediately separated and let her through. She walked past without a second glance towards the boy, who now openly cried. 

Lily had received the row of her life when she went back into the school. The headmistress had come to hear of her fight on the grounds and sent her home with a very formal letter to her parents. For the rest of the day, her peers avoided her at all costs. Her teacher sent her angry glares, but she didn't give a damn. When she had came home, she gave the letter to her parents and plopped down onto the couch, flicking through the channels.

"LILY EVANS!" she heard her father yell from the kitchen. She didn't bother to walk to him; if he wanted to talk to her, he'd have to come through to her. He came raging through the door with an angered look on his face. His wife came in behind him. Lily watched the TV idly, not looking at either of them.

"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU YOUNG LADY!" He started.

Lily looked up at her parents with a bored expression on her face. She didn't care about the fact that her father way angry at her beyond belief, and she didn't see the hurt and disappointment in her mother's face. 

"Why? What have I done?" she asked sarcastically rolling her eyes and turning back onto the TV.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? YOU'VE PUT EDWARD BEATTIE IN A HOSPITAL! THAT'S WHAT!" he yelled. "AND WE'VE BEEN SENT TO SEE YOUR HEADMISTRESS TOMORROW!" He yelled straight at her.

"Really? That should be pleasant." Lily commented

"PLEASANT! LILY, YOU'VE BEEN EXPELLED FROM 3 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS! HOW WILL YOU GET INTO SECONDARY SCHOOL NOW? THEY WON'T ACCEPT YOU WITH YOUR RECORDS!" he yelled down at her. This personally pissed Lily.

"Just my school records? What about the fact that I can set things on fire just by glaring at them, that I can freeze things just by touching them when I'm pissed, or the bloody fact that I'm not normal! I'm not accepted anywhere! I never have been, and I never will be! Even Petunia doesn't accept me, YOU don't accept me, so don't bloody well lecture me about acceptance!" Lily shouted back at her father, glaring daggers at him.

"Lily! Listen to yourself! You're being disrespectful and rude. Yes, we know that certain things have happened around you, but we know that you have nothing to do with it! Your father and I are just concerned. You need to finish school to get on with your life and improve it. This school term ends in two days, and next term, you'll be starting secondary school. Those are important years. How will you get into a school if you carry on acting like this?" Lily's mother managed to say.

"I wouldn't give a…" Lily started.

"GO TO YOUR ROOM LILY!" her father yelled, he nearly spat at his daughter's name. Lily stalked out the room, silently cursing under her breath. She stamped up the stairs and went into the room that she shared with her sister. She slammed the door closed and jumped onto her bed. 

"What did you do now you freak?" Petunia said from side of the room. Lily glared at her. Petunia was too girly-girl for Lily's liking. Everything on her side of the room was pink and white. She was the perfect example of a spoilt princess.

"Piss off Petty, I'm not in the mood," Lily said and put her headphone's on and listened to the music. Petunia heard the sound of rock music coming out of it and glared at her beady eyed. She hated everything about her older sister Lily. She was a slob, she wasn't feminine, and her side clashed horribly with her pink side. Lily had a blue-purple side that was dark in colour. It was always messy with clothes and whatnot everywhere, whereas Petunia was always nice and neat. Petunia hated Lily's taste in music; it was rock music that was played, while she preferred boy bands and dance music. Petunia carried on brushing her short dirty blonde hair and then sat on her bed with fluffy ping slippers, filing her nail. Lily rolled her eyes, and just carried on listening to the music.

The next day, Lily's parents came into the school, while Lily waited outside in the waiting area. She glared at the children that passed by every now and then. They always whispered and pointed at her, and spread rumour about her. She hated every one of them but she stayed seated until her parents came out.

"Come on Lily, we're going home." Her mother said. She followed her parents out of the school. She heard the whispers follow her out. 'Did you hear? Tiger Lily got expelled. She's not going to the secondary school either, they've refused her.' Lily turned around and glared at her little sister, who was smirking, clearly happy with the news.

The summer holidays came, and Lily groaned a little. She knew that her sister would be staying in the house for longer and that she'd tease her, but Lily was sure to burn all her make up later. The holidays were uneventful. Her parents had been trying constantly to find a school that she could go to and study in, but they were failing miserably. Lily spent most of her time either out or in her room playing her guitar or listening to music. When she returned home one evening her parents approached her happily.

"Lily, we've found the perfect school for you," her mother said happily and handed lily a yellowish envelope with green ink. Lily turned the letter around and saw the wax seal. 'Cool.' She thought and opened it. She pulled out the parchment and eye's widened on the first sentence as she read it.

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We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	2. Gutsy Girl

Chapter 2: Gutsy Girl.

'This is…stupid.' Lily thought as she lifted her arms over her head. The lady, Madam Malkin, she said she was called, slipped the black robes over Lily's fiery curls. The plump woman sent a smile at her and started to use magic for certain adjustments. Lily wasn't all too happy with robes, but she'd make her own adjustments later. It had been only a few days that Lily had got the letter from the school. At first, she thought her parents had cracked, and were going insane, but then she had a visit from her Aunt Maple. Her gothic cousin's mother. Lily liked her, she always felt comfortable around her. She had seen her Aunt Maple 'charm' a pillow towards Lily. Lily had been shocked at first, but she snapped out of it as she heard her aunt laugh out loud. She threw the pillow back, which resulted in a huge pillow fight. After that she had been convinced, and she was surprised at how much her parents were pleased with her. Her sister however, being as stuck up as she was, glared at her aunt and at her and left. 'Little bitch' Lily thought as Madam Malkin finished measuring her up. She stepped off the step and her parents paid for her new black school robes.

Lily was amazed by everything in the magical world. She wondered why her parents hadn't told her before, but she didn't care, she was going to go to a school which taught her magic, not the cheap magic that street magicians done, but real magic. 'Real magic' Lily thought. It sounded so right to her, so natural. She had bought her wand, her robes, books, school stationary and she was about to leave when her parents dragged her into one more shop.

"We need to get you a pet!" Her mother exclaimed excitedly.

"What?! But I don't want one! That's Petunia's department!" Lily managed to say. 

"Hey, you'll need to keep in contact with us!" her father noted.

"That's why the Royal Mail was started," Lily stated.

"Oh come now Lily! Do you really think the Royal Mail would go to a School of Magic to post letters?" Lily's mother asked exasperated and pulled her into the Magical Menagerie.

"Fine, but how's a pet going to keep us in contact?" Lily said getting a little annoyed.

"Owls," was all her father said. They dragged her to the bird cases and they looked at all the different owls. They had every type of owls, Snowy owls, Barn Owls, Tawny Owls, Eagle Owls; the species of owls were endless.

"Oh that owl looks healthy," her mother pointed at a majestic looking Barn owl with long brown feathers. 

"This looks like the best owl here," her father pointed at a beautiful eagle owl with dark brown feathers that had some black spots. Lily rolled her eyes at both the owls, she didn't care. As her parents argued with which owl they would purchase, Lily had a look around at all the other animals, no, creatures in the store. They had two headed cats, circus rats, large sea monkeys, basically every magical animal that was smaller than a human being. 'Well, it looks like I'm only getting an owl, so I'll just have a look.' Lily thought as she rounded the corner of the store and headed to the back. There were many owls, all looked very willing to get out, and very cheerful. Lily turned her head at all of them. She then reached the far end of the Magical Menagerie and thought it was lot quieter here. The birdcages were smaller here. She took a long look at all the bird there. Once she had enough she turned to go, until she caught sight of one owl which looked very menacing. She walked closer to the cage as the owl stared intensely at her. It wasn't like many of the other owls there, for one, it had the darkest black feathers, that when the light shone on them, bluish-silver lights shone off the feathers. It had sharp a beak and talons. A yellow iris enveloped the pure black pupil, and its stare was as cold as ice. This owl intrigued Lily, it was like none other in the Magical Menagerie. Lily looked it square in the eyes, she returned the cold stare at the owl. Then at the same time, Lily and the owl's gaze softened.

"You'd better steer clear of her, she's a nasty little brute," the shop assistant warned Lily as he passed. Lily glared at him as he went away. 

"Mum, Dad! Come here, I've found the perfect owl," she called at her parents. Lily's mother and father – who were still arguing about which owl was better – walked to where their eldest daughter stood. Lily stood beside the cage with the black owl and showed her parents the bird.

"This owl, is much more majestic, and more beautiful than the owls you showed me, she is perfect," Lily commented. Lily's parents were a bit anxious about buying such a cold owl, but agreed as Lily seemed to like her.

Lily went on home, feeling happy with all her new things, and she had the coolest owl. She had decided to call her Ravis. She chose it from '_rara avis_' which was Latin for 'a rare bird,' and Lily had indeed thought that her owl was a rare bird. The holidays were ending and she was getting excited, but she refused to show her excitement to her parents or her sister. She talked frequently to her Aunt Maple about the Magical World, and she stayed and talked to her gothic cousin, Jules about Hogwarts. But soon enough the holidays ended, and Lily was getting dressed to go to King's Cross Station. She put on a pair of her dark red, flare baggies, and a full sleeved bottle green top. She had put on her spiked dog collar choker, and a few other chains. She put on her beaded bracelets that Petunia hated so much. Her long fiery locks were let down and they flowed to her mid-back. She put on some black eyeliner and her nails had been painted black, she wanted to make a good impression at Hogwarts.

"So, um…where's Platform 9 ¾?" Lily asked her parents who led her inside.

"You just run through the barrier between Platform 9 and 10," Lily's mother replied in a matter-of fact voice and pointed at the barrier.

"Mum, that's pretty solid," Lily stated as she looked at it.

"What? Is big, tough Lily scared to go through?" her little sister said is a mocking voice.

"No you little brat, so shut up!" Lily spat at her sister and towered over her. Petunia cowered back.

"Lily behave! Now, I've watched my sister run through that barrier seven times before, and I'm sure you can do it. Best take it at a run, so you don't chicken out," her father said smiling.

"Hey, I never said I couldn't do it, I just said that it's solid, and I will not chicken out dad, I'm not a wimp like Petunia." Lily argued back and turned to face the barrier.

"Lily!" her mother scolded. But Lily had already started walked in front of the barrier. She took a deep breath and started to run

"Go for it Lily! Work hard," her father called as Lily headed towards the barrier.

"Write to us!" her mother exclaimed.

"Bye you freak!" Petunia nearly shouted from beside her parents. Lily heard of course, and just before she disappeared through the barrier, she stuck up her middle finger at her sister.

As soon as she went through the barrier, she screeched to a halt. Her bright green eyes looked around her. The platform was full of wizards and witches and other children. They all were carrying trunks and were headed into a large red steam engine. It had the words 'Hogwarts Express' printed on it. 'I guess I'm in the right place then.' Lily pushed her trolley into the platform and looked at the train. It was already full of pupils who waved at their parents and were talking to their friends. Ravis wasn't all too happy with the amount of people there and gave them cold looks. Lily was like that as well, and had a cold look to her. She walked all the way down the to the end of the train and lifted her large trunk off the trolley. It wasn't too heavy. Lily then lifted Ravis' cage and hoisted herself onto the red steam engine. She walked right down to the end compartment and opened it. It was empty, so she sat there. She let Ravis out of her cage and she flew to the top of the compartment, and perched herself in the over head baggage space. Lily took out her personal stereo and put the headphones in her ears. She put her legs up on the seat opposite her and looked out the window. The music drifted into her ears and she tapped her hands along with the drumbeat. The train soon started to move slowly, along the tracks. Lily watched as the station was soon replaced with vast countryside fields. The compartment door opened, but Lily didn't pay attention, she continued to look out the window. 

"Excuse me, can I sit here?" asked a voice. Lily turned and saw a girl with auburn hair that was tied in a plait. She had hazel eyes and was quite small. A black cat stood by her side and she her trunk was behind her.

"Sure, it's a free world," Lily replied. The girl stepped inside and put her trunk beside Lily's. Her cat jumped to the chair beside her and eyed the black owl above. The girl brought out a book and put on her reading spectacles. Lily continued to listen to her music, until there was some interference.

"Bloody CD player," Lily muttered and put it away. The girl looked up.

"We must be approaching Hogwarts soon. The magic in this area must be interfering with your CD player," she said. Lily didn't reply, she just sat with her feet rested on her trunk.

"I'm Gladys Sullivan, what's your name?" she asked.

"Lily." Lily replied and started to adjust her bracelets. She really didn't feel like talking.

"Nice to meet you," Gladys smiled.

"Yeah, right back at ya," Lily replied.

The compartment door opened again and the two girls looked to see who it was. Just by sight, Lily had a disliking to the person.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Gladys Sullivan." Said the boy, with greasy hair.

"Severus," she replied coldly and looked back at her book. 'Severus? What a stupid name' Lily thought, but she couldn't help but notice that Gladys paled, and her hands were shaking as she held her book. He smirked and noticed it too. He walked into the compartment and snatched the book from Gladys' hands. 

"I'm surprised a squib-bitch like you got accepted to Hogwarts. Did your parents have to beg Dumbledore to let you in?" Severus asked with a cold smirk. Lily was officially annoyed with the guy.

"Hey, leave her alone you prick!" Lily snapped from her chair.

"And who might you be?" he asked, in an oily voice.

"You're worst nightmare if you don't piss off!" Lily snapped at him, her fists clenched.

"Ooh, fiery temper, hope to see you in Slytherin with me, we could have fun later on," Severus said and winked, giving her a suggestive look.

"Why you arrogant little bugger!" Lily said. She stood up and punched him square on the nose. Severus was taken aback and held his bleeding nose.

"I never took shit like that at my old schools, and I'm not taking it from you either! Now piss off!" Lily shouted at him. He didn't move, so she grabbed the collar of his robes and threw him out of the compartment. The students from other compartments opened their door to see Severus trembling in front of a fiery rebel.

"And if you ever piss me or my friend off, I'll be dancing on your bloody grave once I have mutilated your pathetic excuse for a life!" Lily yelled from the compartment door. She slammed the door closed. Soon afterwards laughter was heard from the other compartments. Lily turned to look at Gladys.

"Are you ok?" Lily asked at the little girl and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah…I'm…fine, Lily. Just…surprised," Gladys stared up at her. Lily smiled at her, a true smile.

"If he does anything to hurt you, just tell me, and I'll personally deal with him," Lily said. She then rubbed her knuckles; they were starting to bruise a little.

"But, that Serberus or whatever his name is, has one hell of a hard nose!" Lily said, rubbing her knuckles. Gladys laughed a little.

"What's so funny?" Lily asked, not being threatening, just questionably.

"It's just that, no kid, let alone girl, would have the guts to stand up to Severus Snape. You're quite a girl Lily," Gladys commented. Lily smiled.

"Thanks." She replied.

For the rest of the journey, Lily and Gladys talked. They learnt a little bit about the other and they took a liking to one another. The woman with the food cart came along, and bot girls bought some foods to snack on. Lily liked Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans. She liked the different flavours and she spat out the awkward ones. She had also bought Liquorice Wands and she and Gladys happily chewed on the black sweet. When Gladys went back to reading her book, Lily looked out the window and saw the countryside getting wilder and wilder as they went along. It was also getting darker and the September rain started to fall as they went higher up into Scotland. The lights in compartment switched on and the voice of the driver of the train told the pupils that they would be entering Hogwarts in about 20 minutes. Lily opened her trunk and pulled out her new school robes. She slipped it on over her fiery red curls and buckled only one of the buttons. Gladys buttoned up all of hers. Soon enough the train stopped. The window of the compartment opened and Ravis flew on out.

"Don't worry, she's probably going to the Owlery at the school, she'll be ok," Gladys assured Lily.

"I know she will, she's a kickass owl," Lily smiled.

The two girls made their way out into the on to the platform. It was raining heavily now, but neither of them mined too much.

"Firs' Year's this way!" said a booming voice. They turned around and saw the biggest man they had ever seen. 

"'Ello there," he greeted to Lily and Gladys. Gladys smiled up at him, Lily didn't do anything. She just walked on passed him where some other first years were going. Gladys ran to catch up with her. They walked towards a huge lake, where many rowing boats were.

"'Tis four to a boat!" the huge man said. Lily slumped down into the nearest boat where two people already sat. Gladys sat beside Lily.

"Well, excuse me, but we were saving these seats for our boyfriends," said the blonde girl in front of Lily in a voice with reminded her of Petunia.

"Yeah, so get off!" said the brunette next to the blonde. Lily glared at the two girls.

"Make me." She hissed in her coldest voice. It sent a shiver down the girl's spine, but the remained defiant.

"We'll call our boyfriends, and they're strong," the blonde said.

"Oh really? I'll meet them then, see if they're man enough to take on me," Lily commented. The two girls in front of them raised their eyebrows and started to mutter something about 'weirdoes.' The boat soon started to sail across the lake, and towards the huge school. There were many gasps when people caught the first sight of Hogwarts. And to Lily's extreme annoyance, the two girls in front of her squealed at the sight. 'Why is it that everywhere I go, I end up finding a Petunia! I hope they are not in the same house as me!' Lily thought and rubbed her head.

"Isn't it beautiful Lily?" Gladys asked.

"Yeah, looks like something out of a fairytale." Lily commented.

"Yeah, except, that this is real," Gladys said.

The rowing boats docked on the other side of the lake, and everyone stepped out. The two annoying girls Lily and Gladys had shared a boat with huffed as they got off and flicked their hair at Lily as the walked away. 

"Girls." Lily muttered.

"You are one you know," Gladys pointed out. Lily smirked.

"Yeah, I know. At least I'm not like them," Lily said, tilting her head towards the two.

"You're tomboy, a cool one too." Gladys noted. Lily smiled at her and they made their way up the steps to the front door of the castle. When they reached the top, Lily was soaked to the bone and shivering slightly. Lily could hear Gladys' teeth chattering with cold. Lily rubbed her hands together and blew them to create some warmth. Some of the first years were starting to whine, and Lily was frankly quite annoyed at that. The big man, knocked on the door three times, and after a few seconds, a witch who looked like she was in her late 30's and early 40's opened it. She stepped aside and everyone clambered inside.

"My, look at the state of you," she muttered as they all entered. She whispered a charm, and Lily felt herself get slightly warmed and her clothes no longer stuck to her body, in fact, they were dry.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start of term Banquet will start in a few moments, but before that, you will be sorted into your house. The Sorting Ceremony is very important, as it will sort you into your houses. In your years in Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. Points will be given for your achievements, and they will be deducted if rule-breaking takes place." The witch said. She wore robes of emerald green and wore her hair in a tight bun. She wore square spectacles and had a strict aura around her. She led them from the Entrance Hall towards the Great Hall.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few moments. I suggest you smarten yourselves up," she said, looking at the sea of first years. Lily saw her eyes linger on her for a while. 'I thought this outfit would give a good impression.' Lily thought as the teacher turned from her and opened the door to let them in. They were led to the front of the Hall and lined up. The strict witch brought a three legged stool with a ragged hat on it. All eyes were on the hat, and Lily was surprised as it broke into a song. Lily listened as it sang about the houses. Ravenclaw seemed to have all the smart hard workers. Hufflepuff seemed to have the most loyal members. Slytherin seemed to hold the most ambitious of the lot, and Gryffindor held the bravest people and were admired for their courage. After it had finished its song, the whole hall burst into applause. Lily clapped a little and then dropped her hands. The strict witch held a scroll and stood at the side.

"I will call out your names in alphabetical order. You will come to the stool and put on the hat. – Abby, Helen."

Lily saw that it was the brunette girl she had shared a boat with. She walked up to the stool beaming confidently and put the hat on. A few seconds later, it called out "RAVENCLAW!" Lily thought that it was ok. A hat, just picked the house you were in, it was all good. Pupil after pupil went to get sorted.

"- Black, Sirius." The strict witch called. A boy with messy brown hair jogged up to the stool and slipped the hat on. "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat called. He was the first to be put in that house. Lily waited a while longer. She was starting to get bored. She remembered the song she had been listening to on the train and tapped her foot along with it. 

"- Evans, Lily." The strict witch said. Lily snapped out of her reverie as Gladys gently pushed her out of the line. Lily glared at her. ' Your name was called out,' Gladys mouthed to her. Lily turned around and walked towards the stool. She didn't like all the eyes on her and she glared at a few people looking at her. Lily sat on the three-legged stool and placed the hate over her curly red hair. She waited, winding her thumb. She nearly jumped when the hat spoke to her.

'Ah, muggle-born I see. Welcome to the Magical World.' The hat welcomed.

'Thanks…I think.' Lily thought. She heard the hat chuckle.

'Now, where should I place you. Your smart, but Ravenclaw doesn't seem right for you.'

'Why not?' Lily wondered.

'Trust me, you wouldn't like it in Ravenclaw, would you like to have shared a room with Helen Abby, the girl who annoyed you on the rowing boat?' 

'Ok, point taken, but how'd you know about that?' 

'I can read your thoughts Lily.'

'Oh.'

'Hmm, you seem willing to do anything at any cost, maybe Slytherin?'

'HELL NO!'

'Oh?'

'Listen here you crappy little talking object, if you put me in Slytherin, I will personally sew that little mouth of yours and charm it so that the stitches do NOT come out!'

'Perfect Slytherin.' 

'Right, that's it! You better say your prayers!'

'I'm only messing with you Lily! You're a tough, gutsy girl, so I think you'd do well in…GRYFFINDOR!' The hat yelled the last word. Lily took the hat off and placed it on the stool. She glared at it as she saw the brim look like a teasing smile. 

"Stupid little bugger," Lily muttered under her breath. She stalked to the table who was cheering her on. She sat in a free space next to a boy with brownish black hair. The Sorting Ceremony went on, three more boys joined Gryffindor; a Remus Lupin, a nice looking guy with blonde-brown hair and hazel eyes that shone mysteriously. A Peter Pettigrew who was short, tubby and had watery blue eyes, and a James Potter who had jet-black hair and round glasses which were worn in front of mischievous brown eyes, kind of like Sirius Black, the boy Lily sat next to. He had black-brown hair and shining blue eyes, and a mischievous look on him. Two girls had also joined Gryffindor; an Avril Harriet, a blonde girl with grey-blue eyes and a sweet look on her face and a Rafaela di Somma, who was Italian and with a deep brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. Severus Snape got sorted into Slytherin, and Lily was so glad the Sorting Hat hadn't put her with him. Lily waited anxiously for Gladys' turn. Then it came.

"Sullivan, Gladys."

Gladys smiled at Lily headed on her way towards the stool. She sat for a while, waiting for what would happen. Lily prayed that she could be in Gryffindor with her. She enjoyed the other girl's company, she wasn't a girly girl, but she wasn't tomboyish, she was just plain in the middle. After a few more moments, the hat came to its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!" out of everyone in the table, Lily cheered the loudest when she came. Lily made space for Gladys to sit next to her, which she obliged to.

"I'm so happy I'm in the same house as you!" Gladys exclaimed as she sat beside Lily.

"Yeah, this is going to kick ass!" Lily grinned. After a few words from the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, the banquet began.

Lily had never seen so much food appear from no where. They had everything, traditional food, spicy food, oriental food, everything. Lily feeling quite greedy, helped herself to anything nearby. Gladys and the other two girl's in Gryffindor watched as Lily piled everything onto her plate. They were even surprised at what a messy eater she was.

"Lily, you eat like a guy!" Avril commented. Lily grinned at her.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with the way we eat!" Sirius, who had sat beside Lily said through mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"You said it!" James, the boy opposite Sirius said and stuffed his face. Lily grinned at them as well. She liked the people in her house. The girls were really nice, and the boys were very funny.

"Hey, Lily, is it true that you beat up Snape today?" James asked the flaming redhead.

"Oh! It is true! You should have seen her, the best right-hook I've ever seen!" Gladys commented.

"Right, take a note guys, be sure never to piss Lily off!" Sirius whispered. Lily heard and laughed.

"Oh come on Sirius, I'm not that bad!" she said and patted him on the back. Sirius who hadn't been expecting that nearly fell face first into his food. The others laughed.

The banquet soon ended and the first years were led through many corridors and to a portrait of a fat lady with a pink dress on. The prefect stopped in front of the portrait.

"Right, the password is, 'Andromeda.'" The prefect said. The portrait swung open. The prefect led Lily and the girls to their room. Lily opened the door to the girl's dorm and saw all her things next to the window. Lily didn't even bother to change, she took off her robes and fell onto the bed. She slept soundly for the rest of the night, a small smile on her face.

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A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I can't believe you all actually did that! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've got a cold _again_! It's not fair! But it gave me the whole day to write this so, guess it's all good! Right, please R/R!


	3. The First Day

Chapter 3: The First Day.

The autumn sun rose over Hogwarts, and it's warmth spread all over the ground. It shone into the windows of the first year girl's dorm. Lily groaned as it started to come to her face. She covered her face with her pillow but it was no use. 'Bugger that, I'm too awake now.' Lily thought and got up. She got her first full site of her corm. It was deep ruby red in colour, and warm. She had been sleeping in a very posh looking four-poster bed with deep red drapes, which was right beside the window. Lily got up and had a look at the view. She had to admit, it looked really nice. In the distance you could see purple mountains, and there was lot of forestry. But what caught Lily's attention was the violent looking tree. It had knurling roots and, it was moving? Yes, its branches didn't sway with the wind. Lily turned and walked to the other end of the room, and saw that it led to a very comfortable pearly bathroom. They had their own vanity desk, with a huge mirror in front of them. The door had a fancy looking silver plated lock. Lily smirked, 'Petty always wanted a bathroom like this, how ironic that I would get some thing she wants so badly,' Lily thought as she had a look. The vanity desk had several drawers, devoted to one of the girl's. Each drawer had a girl's name on it; she opened the one marked with her name and saw her bare necessities.

Lily looked at herself in the mirror, and saw that she had slept in her clothes. She didn't care. Lily showered and when she got out, Gladys was awake and exploring the dorm herself.

"I never expected you to be a morning person!" she commented as she brushed her long auburn hair.

"I'm not, I just happen to have the bed which faces the window, and that window is so strategically placed to the east where I will get the first sight of the sun," Lily commented as she dried her hair with a towel. She had decided to dress all in black today. Black flared baggy trousers, a black turtleneck. Lily threw the towel onto the railing and sat on her desk. Her fiery red curls were even curlier since they were wet, but she didn't care. She thought it looked all right, but Gladys looked a little sceptical with her leaving it like that. 

"I can't wait to start the classes, they sound so interesting!" Gladys exclaimed, excitement blooming on her face. Lily gave a small smile. She never really looked forward to classes, but this was new and interesting, so she was a little bit curious.

"What class are you looking forward to?" Gladys asked the fiery girl.

"Dunno, what classes are there?" Lily asked leaning back lazily on her chair.

"Lily! You know perfectly well what classes there are!" Gladys reprimanded but with a smirk on her face, but it changed once she saw the look that crossed Lily's face.

"We'll find out at breakfast, we should be getting a timetable then," Gladys answered.

"Fun…" Lily muttered under her breath, " So, since I'm ready, I'll just be off," Lily said and headed out. Just as she was about to exit the girl's dorm Gladys called her.

"Don't forget your school robes Lily!" she reminded her while sticking her head out from the bathroom. Lily grumbled and headed for her trunk, pulling out some robes, she hated wearing them. 'Stupid robes, how come school uniforms always suck?' she thought grumpily and slipped it on leaving it unbuttoned. She headed down the stairs toward the common room. It was mainly empty, there were a few people just entering, all of whom were older than her. Lily scanned the room. It was large and circular, lined with many comfy chairs and couches. Some desks were also available and a roaring fireplace was located to one side of the room. Lily stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked towards the portrait hole, where some people were exiting. 'Ok, where am I going?' Lily wondered, she didn't know her way around the castle. 'Right…let's go downstairs, it looks like I'm in a tower right now,' Lily thought and headed down the steps. She wandered around different corridors and turned different corners, asked the paintings for directions - which she thought was weird – and walked through doors. She finally recognised the Entrance Hall, and retraced her steps to the Great Hall. There she sat down on the table where she saw Gladys; she raised her eyebrow in slight confusion. 'Strange, I know I left waaaayyy before her!'

"Where have you been?" Gladys asked exasperatedly as Lily slumped into the seat.

"Trying to find my way to this place," Lily replied and started to pile her plate with some breakfast.

"Didn't you go down with some other people?" Gladys asked.

"Nope." Lily stated and started to shove a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

As soon as Lily finished her cereal, she heard the thunderous flutter of many wings flying into the Great Hall. She looked up to see dozens of owls streaming in and swooping down to the students at all the tables. Lily easily spotted her black owl amongst the brown, grey and white owls. Lily heard some students mutter.

"Who bought that thing!"

"Someone actually had the guts to buy that crazy bird!"

"That bird nearly ripped my hand apart in the Magical Menagerie!" Lily frowned, how could they say that about such a majestic creature? Lily held out her arm and Ravis landed on it, her talons lightly digging into her robes. Ravis dropped some letters on to Lily's lap and gave a cold stare to everyone looking at their direction. Some people gasped; usually that owl would hooting loudly and would throw a fit on anyone it sent a letter to. Lily glared at the people staring. They quickly turned away from the glaring girl, realising how rude they must've been.

"Thanks Ravis," Lily whispered to her owl. She clicked her beak and flew off to the owlery. Lily tore open the two letters. One was from her parents, asking about her journey and what she thought and telling her to behave. Lily rolled her eyes slightly. She then opened the other letter and saw that it was her timetable.

"This looks kinda boring, I'm quite disappointed." Lily muttered to herself as she looked at it.

"Lily! We've got Transfiguration first! That's supposed to be really good!" Gladys pointed out.

"You hear everything, don't you?" Lily sighed as she folded it and put it in her pocket.

"I listen, that's all," Gladys replied smiling at her.

Later on in the morning, Lily silently scolded herself. 'Oh, yeah…lost, again. I just had to tell Gladys to go on without me!' Lily thought slightly angrily. 'Stupid castle, doesn't help when the staircases move!' Lily thought as she saw one above her move to a doorway to the left. She climbed up the staircase and went on down the corridor. She didn't have a clue where to go, but carried on wherever her feet carried her. Finally, after ten minutes of winding corridors, five staircases, and two portraits, Lily found the door labelled 'Transfiguration.' She didn't bother to knock and just walked in, her cloaks billowing behind her. She gazed into the room and stood in front of the class.

"Nice of you to join us Miss Evans," said a stern looking witch at the end of the room, Professor McGonagall, or something like that. Lily recognised her as the witch at the Sorting Ceremony. 

"Yeah, nice to be here," Lily replied with hints of sarcasm.

"In future, I would like you to come to class in time. Points will not be deducted since it's your day here," Professor McGonagall informed.

"Sure, whatever you say," Lily muttered and took a seat next to a kid with ginger hair. The professor frowned but let it pass. The witch droned on about something, Lily wasn't really paying attention. She just started to pay attention when everyone brought out their wands.

"Now, Lily, I would like you to demonstrate the spell to turn this pin into a needle," McGonagall stated.

"Question…why? Pins, needles, they're basically the same thing." Lily asked, showing complete disinterest. McGonagall pursed her lips.

"All things start small Lily. Now try the spell," McGonagall said, with a tone of annoyance.

"Ok, what do I say?" Lily said with boredom. She had pushed McGonagall too far.

"If you had been listening, you would know what to do! 10 points from Gryffindor! Now, kindly pay attention Miss Evans!" McGonagall scolded.

"There's no need for such formalities Professor M. All this 'Miss Evans' just isn't me, call me Lily," she said with sickly sweet smile on her face.

"5 more points from Gryffindor for cheek, _Miss Evans._" Professor McGonagall reprimanded and continued with the lesson. Some snickers were heard from behind the class, but Lily didn't listen to them. By the end of the class, she had managed to do the task of transfiguring a pin into a needle. Although Lily didn't see much in difference, but she had to admit that she was happy to have achieved some sort of magic. They had Herbology in the greenhouses, with Slytherin's. 'Crap, wasn't that Snape guy in Slytherin?' she thought as she stepped out onto the grounds. Her question was soon answered.

"Well if it isn't the little rebel," a sneering voice said behind her. Lily clenched her fists and tried to remain calm. His voice alone was enough to piss her off. She turned around to face him. Hands crossed and glare present on her face.

"I'm surprised you even have the guts to talk to me right now," Lily said coolly.

"What? Me? Scared to talk to a girl, after one lousy punch? Not on your life." he smirked.

"You're head must be too far up your arse if you thought that punch was lousy Snape!" said a male voice behind them. From behind him, laughter could be heard. Sirius, Remus and Peter were nearly red from laughter. James was smirking but still held a cold stare at Snape.

"Bet your punch is worse that this little girl's punch, Potter," Snape spat.

"Why don't we test that theory? Ladies first…" James grinned at Lily. A small smirk played its way onto her face.

"Gladly," Lily said and started to confront Snape, cracking her knuckles menacingly. A slight look of horror spread over his features.

"Later," he said quickly and bolted off.

The group of first years didn't hesitate to burst out laughing – or carry on laughing in Sirius', Remus' and Peter's case – as Snape ran away. The group walked on towards the greenhouses, some clutching at their stitches from so much laughter. Herbology, was kind of interesting. But Lily had shown the same cheek to the professor as she had in a transfiguration. Somehow, she had got through the lesson without having points deducted from the house. During the lesson, Lily had great pleasure of throwing bits of parchment at the back of Snape's head. But it was Sirius' prank, which had won over. He had handed her a piece of black parchment.

"Aim for his head," he whispered, grinning mischievously. Lily nodded.

She took aim, while James distracted the professor. 'Perfect' she thought before she was about to throw. She threw it hard, while trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. As soon as the black parchment had hit Snape's neck, a large explosion took place. The greenhouse filled with smoke, and a vile smell filled it. Cries of 'dungbomb!' filled the room. Lily was laughing so hard, but tried not to as the smell was quite horrid. That had been the highlight of her day so far. After that incident, the Herbology teacher had taken points of the Slytherin's as the dungbomb remains were located right beside Snape.

Lunch time soon came, and Lily and Gladys headed back towards the Great Hall. It was already filled with a lot of students, and breakfast had seemed to be so long ago for Lily. She sat at the edge of the table and helped herself to a ham sandwich and yoghurt. 

"Those were some smooth moves you pulled on Snape today Lily," Rafaela said and sat opposite her. Avril joined her and sat by her side. Lily grinned as she remembered them.

"This is so cool. He's like from one of the wealthiest aristocratic wizarding families and always has the best things. And here we have a normal muggle-born girl, who can just stick up to him." Avril smiled at her.

"She's muggle born is she?" said a voice from behind her. Lily turned around in her seat and saw a boy with blonde hair and steely blue grey eyes. Laughter could soon be heard from behind.

"No, you've go to be joking…her…a…a… mudblood?" he started to laugh even more. Lily frowned as she heard the girl's around her gasp.

"You take that back Malfoy!" Gladys spat. He just laughed more

"Just wait until everyone hears that the rebel is a mudblood."

'Well, I take it that I'm supposed to be offended by this.' Lily thought as she gave him an icy glare.

"I would have thought that ice queen here would have surely been from pureblood family. Seeing as she prances around this school like she owns it, but this is just too funny," he laughed and turned to go to the Slytherin table. Lily saw as he gathered all his friends - including Snape - together and talk to them in a hushed tone. Laughter could soon be heard from the Sytherin table.

"Are you ok Lily?" Rafaela asked.

"Just a little confused, what's a 'mudblood?'" she asked with a curious expression. Gladys sighed.

"Lily, a 'mudblood' is the most offensive word used to describe muggle born witches and wizards. He's a pureblood, meaning that his parents are magical folk. Half-blood is one muggle parent and one magical parent. But calling you a 'mudblood' is simply, low," she explained.

"I'll kill him!" Lily growled and stood got out of her seat, nearly knocking it over in the process.

"Wait! Lily!" Gladys called but Lily ignored her. She paced towards their table and knocked down a fair few people in her way.

"Woah there Lily! Where're you going?" Sirius said grinning at her. She glared at him. His grin faded a little. James appeared beside him laughing at the look on Sirius' face, but then stopped when he noticed an icy pair of green eyes on him.

"Out of my way, I'm pissed and I don't want to take it out on you!" she nearly shouted.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go there just right now." James murmured. A small smirk made it's way to Sirius' face. Lily caught on.

"Alright, just this once. But I have a bone to pick with Malfoy," she confirmed and turned out of the Great Hall. Just as she exited, an explosion was heard from the Slytherin table, followed by roars of laughter.

After lunch, Lily saw that she had Charms. She had been looking forward to having Charms, but she wasn't in the mood since lunch. She walked up through the corridors had headed towards the door with Charms written outside it. She opened the door and took a seat at the back of the class. She sat by a window and the breeze swept in, cooling her down, and blowing her fiery red curls past towards her face. She smiled, this seat was perfect. Soon afterwards, she saw Gladys enter with Avril and Rafaela. Gladys sat beside her, while Avril and Rafaela sat in front of her. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter entered just before the Professor came in. Lily snapped out of her daze as she heard a voice come from no where.

"Good afternoon class," said the voice. Lily looked up and saw a head popping up from behind the desk. 'We have a dwarf for a teacher?' she thought. 

"I am Professor Flitwick. I will be your Charms Teacher here at your time at Hogwarts. Now, Charms is a very basic form of magic, but once you pass the basics, you can advance it to great forms." He said, with much enthusiasm.

"Now, Let's just take the register. When you hear you name just spark your wand. Right…Samuel Applebaum."

Blue sparks shot up from a boy at the front with brown hair. Professor Flitwick acknowledged him. He looked back at his register.

"Sirius Black." He said. Reds sparks shot out of Sirius' wand and formed an arrow that pointed at him. The Professor clapped at his sparks and continued with the register. After a few more names, he came to Lily's names.

"Lily Evans." Lily raised her wand and to her shock, the sparks just flew out and the word 'Lily' formed just above her. 

"Ah I see we have another student with a natural ability for Charms!" he said and smiled at her. Lily didn't return the smile, but just sat their, looking bored. The professor continued with the register and it soon ended.

"Right, during this week, we will learn how to levitate objects around us. It's usually harder to levitate heavy objects, so we will start with a fairly light object." He said. The Professor opened a bow at his desk. He grabbed a handful of feathers and threw them in the air. With his wand, he placed a banished charm on them and they flew towards the new students. The feather slowly floated down onto each desk.

"The incantation we use to levitate objects is _Wingardium Leviosa_." The tiny professor announced. A murmur went around the class as people tried to pronounce the word.

"If you all just pick up your wands, we'll get started on the movement needed. It's quite simple really. You just swish and flick. Like this." He demonstrated with his wand as his pupils watched.

"Now all of you just try that." He said cheerfully. He observed as many pupils started to swish and flick their wands as he had demonstrated. Lily felt incredibly stupid as she did this, but didn't feel so bad as everyone was doing it.

"Now, lets all try the spell. Say _Wingardium_ during the flick and _Leviosa_ during the flick." He instructed.

"You go first Gladys." Lily said. She was already bored and seriously not in the mood to work.

Gladys swished and flicked her wand, while saying the incantation. The feather didn't rise very high. Just a few centimetres off the desk. Gladys frowned and tried again, it rose just a few centimetres again. As she tried and tried, she was getting more frustrated as the feather wouldn't rise very high. Lily watched her in slight amusement at first, but it was starting when Gladys just didn't get it. It was simple! She lifted up her wand and took a deep breath.

"_Wingardium Leviosa._" Lily said clearly and concisely. To her surprise, her feather shot right up, hovering a good five feet from her desk.

"Woah." She said out loud.

"Ah! Well Done Lily! This is quite an accomplishment! Why, when I was a boy, it took me a good month to be able to levitate that high!" he said cheerfully.

"Uh. Cool." She muttered. When she put her wand down, the feather floated down to its place on her desk. 'Awesome.' She thought and grinned to herself. To Lily's disappointment, Charms soon ended, although she had a few laughs at the others attempts, not failing to subside her laughter at others attempts. 

"You didn't need to keep pointing out the flaws in my…no…everyone's levitating!" Gladys pointed out as they made their way to their next class.

"It's fun though. To know I'm the better than everyone else in that class," Lily grinned cheerfully.

"Your modesty amazes me." Gladys muttered. Lily glared but laughed all the same.

"So, what do we have next?" Lily asked, calming down. The groan that escaped from Gladys gave Lily the impression that the next class wouldn't be too good for her.

"Potions."

"What's so bad about Potions?" Lily asked.

"We have it with…" Gladys started.

"Eeeeewww…it's the mudblood, go away! I don't want your foul self anywhere near me! Severus, protect me!" squealed a girl behind them. Lily turned around and saw the group of first year Slytherin's behind them. A girl was cackling while holding onto Snape's arm as the other's laughed and pointed at Lily. Lily smirked a little.

"Sorry toots. Dear Snapey here couldn't save your huge ass if I was bound up and half dead." Lily retorted in a sickly sweet voice and turned away from them, walking with Gladys towards the dungeon

"At least I'm a pureblood." He snapped. 

"You know what Snape? I really wouldn't give a rat's ass if you were or not. I could kick your ass any old day, whether it be physically of magically." Lily said with slight annoyance in her voice as she headed towards Potions.

"Damn straight!" Gladys commented.

"Listen here mudblood! Us Slytherin's could…" Malfoy started, but stopped when Lily started to approach him with a sweet smile on her face. The male half of the Slytherin group would have thought she looked attractive like that. They all gulped slightly when she approached Malfoy.

"You know what Malfoy? Did anyone ever tell you that you're so…-gasp- fine." She said while playing with a loose piece of material on his robes, which was oh so appropriately placed at his chest. He gulped a little more. They were starting to attract an audience. 

"Uhm…uh…" he stuttered, at a loss for words. The rebel, actually, complimenting him? Or maybe even…seducing him? 'God! We're only 11!' he thought. Then to his shock, she put her arms around his neck.

"Ack!" he yelped. Everyone was staring at him. Lily was getting just a bit too close.

"Honestly, I think we could grow quite close." She smiled seductively. Gasps were heard through the crowd. Lily slowly crept closer. More gasps.

And even closer.

Wide eyes stared at them.

And closer.

Some people were loosening the top buttons of their robes.

And closer.

Did someone crank up the heat?

And closer.

She was really going to do it! She just fluttered her eyelashes at him!

Everyone was full of tension as they watched the two. Their faces just inches apart. Malfoy looking too shocked to do anything. Lily's sweet smile soon turned into an mischievous smirk. Just as everybody thought they were about to kiss, she kicked her knee up high and hard. It just so happened to be aimed at his groin area. Malfoy gasped and his eyes were bulging. His face was red, and a look of sheer shock -and extreme pain- ran across his features. The male population of the crowd gasped and looked away with a pained look on their faces. All the girls just looked on in shock, clutching at their bags as they saw the sight. There was a good few moments of silence. During that time, Malfoy had been standing up, only because of Lily's support as she stood there, with her knee firmly placed there. Her mischievous smirk had turned into an evil one. She grabbed handful of his golden hair in her hands and made him face her.

"That's for calling me a mudblood." She said and broke the long silence. She stepped away and Malfoy collapsed onto the floor. She turned and faced the crowd.

"Ladies, from what I felt, his balls are pretty small." She announced. She then caught up with Gladys who was staring at her with complete shock. Lily just smirked and made her way to class.

The Potions master had granted Malfoy leave of the class, seeing the state he was in when he came in. She didn't ask any questions, but eyed the class suspiciously. During class, Lily had receive glares from the Slytherin's and many pained yet amused looks from the Gryffindor's. A note was passed towards Lily from behind. While the professor was turned away, Lily read it.

__

- Lily you rebel!

That was pure harsh! Do you know how painful that looked? How GREAT that looked?!?! Us guys are impressed in a weird twisted kind of way. We wouldn't have missed looking at that sight, but believe me, that was harsh and painful, but very impressive! I think you've scared half the guys here, word spreads fast here. You'll probably e the most feared girl here. But don't worry, we still love ya!

Sirius, James, Remus and Peter. -

Lily smirked and turned to look at them. They were all grinning from ear to ear, except from Peter, who looked slightly fearful at her.

"Miss Evans! Pay attention! 10 points off Gryffindor!" the professor scolded. Lily glared at her, but continued to take notes from her book and off the board. 'Stupid teacher!' Lily thought as she carried on with her work. The lesson went on by quickly. As soon as the lesson was over, the Slytherin's rushed out of the classroom, each glaring at her. If looks could kill, she'd be dead 5 times over. Lily just smiled a sickly sweet smile at them, leaving them royally pissed. Lily and Gladys headed towards the Gryffindor Common room and were soon joined by James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. They talked a lot about the whole day and their pranks, and Lily's incidents.

"I'll remember this day fondly," Sirius sighed making them laugh.

"Who could forget this day?" Remus laughed.

"Andromeda." Gladys said and the portrait of the Fat Lady opened and they entered the common room.

"Yeah, the first day was rather amusing." Lily commented, grinning. 

***

A/N: I'm so sorry! I seriously meant to update sooner, but I had a little thing called writer's block and also, I had a week without the laptop cause my dad went overseas taking it with him leaving me nothing to write my story on! Those are my excuses and I'm sticking to them! It's the truth as well! Honest! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I think it's kinda long, and I hope you're not put off by it! I did try to make it funny, but humour can be hard to write if you're not a funny person! I'm going to try and make the future chapters more interesting, so please keep reading! And reviewing would be nice too! ::hint hint::


	4. Going Home

 Chapter 4: Going Home.

Weeks past and everyone got into the swing of the school year. The students were now used to waking up at ungodly hours to get ready for classes, well, most of them anyway. Within these weeks, the new batch of first years had got themselves quite known with the whole school. Especially those from Gryffindor and Slytherin. Lily's name was known through many reasons, as were those of James, Sirius and Remus. Lucius and Severus had also become quite known and it was between these groups that most arguments, fights and pranks were done. 

All too soon, the season's changed and where crisp green grass was seen, was soon covered with snow which was surprisingly thick this year. The School decorations changed as trees started to appear everywhere, and tinsel would be wound around the suits of armour which were unnaturally shiny. Yes, the Christmas spirit had reached Hogwarts, and Lily loathed it.

"You'd think Snape had seen you naked with the way you're acting," Gladys commented as she watched Lily's mood grow foul. Lily sat by the cold window ledge staring angrily outside as more snow fell.

"Everyone is just too happy this time of year. Personally, I don't give a shit about Christmas," Lily spat out the word.

"Lily! Language!" Gladys scolded.

"Sorry Mother dearest," Lily said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, there must be much more of reason as to why you hate Christmas so much," Gladys said.

"Gladys, I hate Christmas, let's just leave it at that," Lily said, finality ringing in her voice.

"Fine. So, are you going home for the holidays?" she asked. Lily sighed heavily.

"Yeah, probably gonna be as shitty as it was last year," Lily commented.

" Aw, well, if it makes you feel any better, Malfoy got detention today." Gladys smiled. Lily laughed.

"The bugger probably deserved it anyway!!" she commented.

"Come on, let's just have some fun today." Gladys exclaimed. Lily raised her eyebrow at her.

"What? No extra work you want to do?" Lily asked.

"Nah, I've done enough work this term, I feel like going outside," she said.

"Are you crazy? Look outside? It's suicide in that blizzard!" Lily said pointing outside.

"Come on Lily? Where's your sense of adventure gone? Anyway, we could always go out when everyone else is outside and feeling all happy-go lucky," Gladys said. Lily smiled, Gladys always knew what she would and wouldn't like.

"Ok then! But if I get the flu, watch out girlie," Lily warned her with a sly grin.

That afternoon was spent trudging around the grounds in the blizzard. It was good exercise actually and Lily hated to admit it, but she was enjoying the feeling of the cold harsh snow hitting her. It made her feel stronger and made her feel like she could face any of the elements that came at her.  It wasn't until she felt a whole heap of snow hit her back. She turned around and saw Gladys laughing at her through her two scarves and her woolly hat which was too big for her. Lily grinned evilly and sent a mound of snow at Gladys who got hit, splat on the head. 'A snowball fight in the blizzard, this is cool,' Lily thought. The snowfall soon stopped and  both of Lily and Gladys were completely drenched. Luckily Lily knew the charm to quickly dry themselves up. They headed back to the castle and enjoyed the warmth of the common room. They talked through the afternoon.

"LILY!" A loud shout interrupted the girl's conversation. As soon as Lily turned around, Sirius pounced on her and pinned her arms on the ground.

"Attacking from the rear? That's low Sirius!" Lily said with a grin. She placed her legs on his stomach and flipped him over her. She then turned and sat on his back still, twisting the position of her hands so that she now pinned Sirius to the ground.

"Ouch…ok…that was painful," Siruis said. James, Remus , Peter and Gladys laughed. All four of them had grown accustomed to Lily and Siruis' play fights and wrestling matches.

"Painful as that was, I will not be defeated that easily," Sirius said and flipped around to his stomach, making Lily fall off him. They both grinned and went into ninja stances.

"You have improved Sirius-san," Lily said in her Japanese accent.

"As have you Lily-san," Sirius said in an accent reminiscent to that of Lily's Japanese one. The both charged at each other.

"Alright, 5 Sickles that Lily wins," James challenged Peter.

"You're on," Peter accepted.

Sirius had Lily in a headlock and started giving her a noogie. Little did he know that Lily's leg  was head for him from behind, making him fall, still holding on to her.

"AH! Sirius! The least you could do is let go of me before you fall!" Lily said rubbing her head where she had banged it.

Sirius then turned to pin her. Lily once again tried to flip him, but he dodged and soon they were just rolling around the common room floor, trying to pin each other to the floor. The 

fight went on until a really strict Gryffindor prefect separated them.

"I guess neither of us will lose any money then," Peter said.

"Oh well, it was good while it lasted. Well fought Sirius," she said and held out her hand. Sirius took it. They shook, but his face contorted in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow….Lily! Let go!" Sirius gasped. Lily smirked and let go of her killer grip handshake.

"Alright, pay up Peter,  Lily won that round!" James laughed as Sirius held his throbbing hand.

Soon enough, it was time to leave Hogwarts for the holidays. Lily said her goodbyes to Gladys, who was staying for the holidays. She was going to spend her time with the other girls in the Gryffindor year, Avril and Rafaela. So, Lily sat in a compartment near the back, like when she arrived to the school. Her mood was foul. She didn't like Christmas with her family. She hated it. Lily sat alone for a while until James came into her compartment.

"Hey you! What are you doing here all alone?" he asked as he sat beside her.

"Wallowing in self pity, what does it look like?!" Lily snapped.

"You're very unattractive when you go into bad moods like this, unless it's with a Slytherin, then you're just way too funny," James commented. Lily smiled a little and gave him a friendly wallop.

"Shut up James," she said, in a more friendly way.

"So, you doing anything special this Christmas?" he asked. Lily turned foul again.

"No. It's always the same bloody things as last time," Lily replied.

"Gladys told me how you're anti-Christmas with your family." James said.

"Yeah well, you would be too if you had a spoiled sister who whines every year just because her shade of lipstick isn't right, a mother who's over obsessed with decorations and the dinner so much that everything has to be _so perfect, and a father who just can't loosen up and disapproves of basically everything you do." Lily said quite quickly._

"Whoa, it's that bad?" James asked. Lily nodded and looked outside.

"My sister's the worst. She's the most anti-me person in history. She hates my guts, and I hate her much more than that. She's spoiled, she's annoying, she's girly beyond belief and she's dumbest blonde ever known," Lily said. 

"Thank god I'm an only child!" James said trying to lighten her mood. She smiled at him.

"I am so envious of you right now it's unbelievable," Lily said smiling at him.  James laughed at her.

"I don't want you to spend Christmas like that. So, you can come around to my place if you want. It's not much but it's nice. Sirius is usually always around and Remus will stay with us for a while. Peter was going to come over but he can't since he's visiting his grandma. So, you can come instead." James offered. Her eyes widened at the offer.

"Really?" she asked.

"Sure! My parents love having people over. The more the merrier. Just come over whenever you feel like it. You can stay with us for a couple of nights too if you wanted." James said smiling at her.

"Alright, you don't have to ask me twice, I'll be there. But…err…how do I get to your house?" Lily asked. James reached inside his pocket and pulled out a pouch.

"Use this Floo Powder. I'll ask my dad to include you in the Floo network. Just shout out 'Godric's Hollow' when you throw it into your fireplace. The flames will rise and you just step in. It's completely harmless, but keep your elbows tucked in." James added.

"Got it. Thanks James!" Lily said and hugged him. James was a bit taken aback but patted her a bit awkwardly. Lily let go and then muttered.

"Don't tell anyone about that hug, ok, it'll ruin my reputation." Lily said.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." James said with a smirk. Just then Sirius bounded through the door followed closely by Remus and Peter. 

"James! You're taking your time!" Sirius said and sat down opposite his friends, as did Remus and Peter.

"So are you coming to James for Christmas Lily?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, sounds like it's gonna be fun," Lily answered.

"Of course it'll be fun. I'll be there, how could it not be fun?!" Sirius said all high and mighty.

"Shut up Sirius," Lily said while shaking her head. The group of friends continued to talk until the train reached King's Cross Station. 

Lily walked through the barrier and was glad to see that James, Sirius and Remus had waited for her. She saw Peter in the distance with what must have been his parents. She pushed her trolley to where her friends were.

"So, who're your parents?" Lily asked them as there were a throng of adults around them.

"My parents are right at the back, they're probably waiting so I'll see all of you later. Merry Christmas guys!" Remus said. 

"Bye Remus! Merry Christmas!" they all chanted.

He pushed his trolley through the crowd and saw a woman who was the spitting image of Remus. Except for the eyes. She had warm hazel eyes, whereas Remus had a strangely enchanting shade of amber. Remus turned back to them and waved. They all waved back at him, especially Sirius who was starting to make a bit of a scene. 

"Calm down Sirius, honestly, I'm slightly embarrassed to be standing by you!" James grinned at him.

"I am hurt," Sirius pouted but grinned through it. Lily then saw the familiar faces of her family and sighed heavily.

"Well guys, I gotta go too. My folk's are here, unfortunately with my sister too," Lily said sighing heavily. Both boys turned to where Lily was look and they saw the prissy girl all clad in red and pink. They both suddenly burst out laughing. Lily turned to look at them.

"Lily…_that's…your sister?" Sirius managed to say through his laughing._

"Yep, in the flesh…unfortunately." Lily replied. James put his hand on her shoulder, still laughing and said.

"Honestly Lily, if you ever need to escape that nightmare, just come over. I really feel sorry for you," James managed to say. Sirius snorted through his laughing.

"Thanks for the support, well see ya later." She managed to say and walked away from them.  She dodged the other parents and her peers and made her way to her family.  Her mother gave her a hug.

"Mum! Not in public." Lily moaned and her mother let her go.

"Lily I haven't seen you in so long. I've missed you so much!" her mother said. 'Yeah right.' Lily thought and rolled her eyes.

"Come on, let's head off home, I want to hear a detail account of Hogwarts," Lily's father said and started to push Lily's trolley for her. 'Whatever.' Lily thought. Ravis started to screech, so Lily held her. Her owl still didn't like anyone else handling her.

"What a stupid owl, needs your attention all the time doesn't it," Petunia commented while running her bony hand through her hair. Ravis was utterly insulted and flew for Petunia. Petunia screamed as Ravis bit her nose. Lily burst out laughing and called Ravis back to her.

"Good job Ravis! Serves the bitch right doesn't it!" Lily said to her owl. Lily's mother tended to Petunia's now bleeding nose as they left the train station. 

***

A/N: Um…hi! I am firstly going to grovel on my knees for forgiveness. ::on her knees:: I AM SO SORRY!!!!!!! I seriously did not mean to leave all of you hanging on chapter 3! But this think called Writer's Block kicked in and  I had no ideas whatsoever. Then I kinda forgot about this story and then I got a new computer and when I was moving all my old files onto it, I noticed this story and I though I was going to be in deep shit with all the reader's if I didn't carry on. So I carried. It was hard, it was tough but ideas soon came to me and then this happened. I hope all my old reader's will come continue to read my fics. Especially Gary Skinner who so thoughtfully was nice enough to review all my HP fanfics. Please forgive me. I promise you I will write the next chapter as soon as I get new reviews. And I write even faster if my old reader's review too! Please! I'm begging here, I'm losing the little dignity I have in apologising! Please read and review! 


	5. Escaping Your Family

Chapter 5: Escaping Your Family.

Once Lily reached home, she ignored the questions that her parents shot at her and went to her room. She had spent quite a few days by herself in her room, not wanting to get into the Christmas spirit with her family. She put on her headphones and listened to the music flowing through them. She lay on her bed and let her mind drift off else where. She watched as the snow fell outside and it was one of those rare times that she felt quite peaceful at home. The whole moment was ruined by Petunia coming in.

"Dad wants to see you," she drawled holding onto her pained nose.

"Nothing's stopping him is there." Lily replied not really wanting to talk to her sister.

"No you dummy, you've got to go down and see him."

"I don't want to, go tell him that." Lily remarked.

"I'm not you're messenger!" Petunia retorted. She went to her vanity desk and sat down. She whimpered at her bandaged nose.

"Look what you're stupid bird's done to my nose! If I get a scar, I'll have that thing put down!" she snapped.

"Well, if you hadn't been such a pansy and insulted Ravis, then she wouldn't have bitten you. You deserved it you self-centred priss," Lily shot back at her glaring at her sister. Her sister snickered to herself.

"Self-centred am I? Well, look at you!" Petunia turned around to face at her. Lily stopped her music and shot venom at her sister.

 "Just look at you. Here you are, home at the happiest time of year when no one wants you around. Mum and dad sent you to that freak-show boarding school of yours to get rid of you. You were always prancing about, caring about yourself, thinking you were the almighty queen of the world. You got into fights and you were expelled from three schools! Mum and dad were so ashamed of you. When you were away at that Hogfarts School, or whatever it's called, mum was always thinking you'd get into a fight, and then the next day, a letter's home with that kid you hurt before a lesson…a Malfoy or something like that. Dad was expecting you to come home after that. See…no one likes you! No one from that school of yours has written to you, I'm not surprised. You're the self-centred person around here. Thinking you're all tough and that. The day you get expelled from that freak-show school because of you're…well…freakiness, will be the happiest day of my young and beautiful life!" Petunia said with a smug grin looming on her face.

She had touched a nerve. Lily was positively fuming right now. Her face was as bright as her red curls. Her fists were clenched, turning her knuckles white. She looked ready to kill Petunia who seemed very proud of what she had said. She turned around and started to brush her dirty blonde hair.

"Take that back," Lily spat, she was positively livid when her sister just ignored her. Lily was at her sister's side of the room in two steps and snatched the brush out of Petunia's hand, throwing it behind her to where it landed in Lily's bin. She grabbed her sister by the collar and lifted her up so that her feet were dangling in the air. Her sister started to squeal.

"Shut up! You heard me the first bloody time. Take that back," Lily hissed at her.

"I won't! It's the truth." Petunia managed to say. Lily's temper had reached her limits, but she wasn't going to hurt her sister anymore than this. She had more integrity than that. She let go of Petunia roughly.

"Fuck you," Lily spat at her. She slammed the bedroom door and headed downstairs, fuming. She brought out her long black jacket and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going Lily?" her mother called.

"Out! What does it look like?" Lily shouted not bothering to close the door.

Lily walked away from her home, utterly disgusted at her sister, and her parents for that matter. Had what her sister said been true? It couldn't be. Lily continued to walk through the snowfall, which was on its way of becoming a blizzard. Her mind was ringing with her sister's words. They kept repeating in her head. 

_'__Hogfarts__School__'. What a dumb-ass. _

_'Mum and dad were so ashamed of you.' That's not new. I've always been their huge disappointment._

_'a letter's home about that kid you hurt before a lesson…Malfoy or something like that.' He deserved all of what I did to him the bugger. I'm sure you'd get on just well with him Petunia, I'll be sure to not attend your wedding._

_'Dad was expecting you home after that.' He expects too much. He should know by now, not to expect anything good from his one demented daughter that he should have never had._

_'See…no one likes you!'…_

_'See…no one likes you!'…_

_'See…no one likes you!'…_

Those words kept ringing in Lily's ears. Lily frowned and stopped her walking. The snow was heavy and it pelted onto her side. She took no notice of the coldness, it was welcome now. All through out her life, Lily had wanted to be liked by someone. People ignored her at school because she had managed to do things on accident, like setting things on fire whenever she got angry, her peers stayed away from her. Fights would often occur with some of the boys who would annoy her. She had always been easy to anger. But then Hogwarts came, she felt accepted there, slightly feared but accepted there. But no one actually said they liked her. Gladys never said it, James never said it, nor Sirius, Remus or Peter. But James, he had invited her over for Christmas. Maybe he liked her? Lily brightened up at that thought. And Sirius, all their play fights and bickering were friendly enough. Remus always helped her whenever she was stuck with homework and kept her up to date with any pranks they had in mind. Peter was a tag-along but nice enough. And Gladys…she had always been there. She always knew what Lily liked and disliked. They shared laughs together. They shared their answers in homework. Gladys may not have said it, but she showed it. 'Petunia's just a bitch; I shouldn't listen to her…EVER!' Lily thought. Lily headed back home, getting cold as the snow was soaking through her jacket. She returned much happier, but she knew she would now have to feel the wrath of her parents. Petunia must've told them of the incident, twisting the blame on Lily.

Lily entered her home and hung up her soaking jacket. Her curly hair was now even curlier now that it was wet. She was going to head upstairs, as her foot went on a step, it creaked.

"Lily Evans, come here this instance," her father's voice boomed from the living room. 

"Make me," Lily smart-mouthed.

"Don't give me any cheek young lady!" he shouted. Lily sighed and headed towards the living room. Her father sat on a couch opposite the fire-place. Petunia and her mother sat on either side of him. Lily stood opposite them her arms crossed.

"Please repeat what you said to Petunia earlier from now," her father ordered.

"I was commenting on how her baby blue dress made her ass look fat," Lily replied defiantly.

"She didn't say that! And this dress does not make me look fat!" Petunia defended herself.

 "I said it made your as look fat. You should listen more carefully Petty," Lily said in a sickly sweet voice full of sarcasm.

"ENOUGH! LILY! WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HER?" Her father yelled.

"I believe that that should main between both myself and Petty. It was a private conversation after all." Lily remarked.

"LILY IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT YOU SAID, YOU WILL BE GROUNDED FOR THE WHOLE OF THE HOLIDAYS!" Her father yelled going red.

"What? Me spending all my holiday in my room and missing out on all these festivities? How ever will I cope?" Lily said sarcastically and rolling her eyes. She was starting to hope she would be grounded soon.

"Oh forget it dad, she said the f-word." Petunia butted in.

"That's a nasty charge; can you back up this with evidence?" Lily smirked.

"Lily! I have had enough of your cheek! You're being disrespectful towards your elders. I thought that going to Hogwarts would've been a wake-up call for you to behave!" her mother commented.

"Nope, sorry mum, Hogwarts pretty much teaches magic." Lily retorted back.

Her family looked like they were going to explode at her. But Lily stood their, quite calmly and smirked.

"Lily, we are no longer going to tolerate any more of your smart-mouthing. Why do you do it? Why couldn't you behave like a nice normal girl? Like Petunia for instance. She's very obedient and listens to us. And we've seen the marks you've left on Petunia's neck from that incident upstairs. You're behaviour and characteristics are no longer acceptable in this house. You have to change, now. Otherwise you will not be welcome in this household anymore." Her father said.

He said it solemnly and seriously. Lily was wide-eyed and couldn't believe what she was hearing. She stomped out of the room and grabbed her trunk from under the stairs. She hadn't unpacked, so everything was in it. She ran upstairs and grabbed her guitar case and fled down the stairs. She grabbed the cage Ravis currently slept in and dragged all her belongings towards the living room. Her parents looked on in sheer wonderment, not exactly knowing what was going on. Lily looked inside her trunk and brought out a small pouch, that James had given her. She threw some of the powder into the flames. They rose and turned green. Lily turned to face her family, her eyes a lot darker than they had been before.

"I _know that I'm not wanted around here. And frankly I don't give a shit about it. If you don't want me here, then I'm leaving. Merry fucking Christmas." Lily spat._

"GODRIC'S HOLLOW!" Lily shouted clearly.

"Now, Lily, don't do anything hasty," her father said worriedly. 

But Lily had already stepped into the flames, with all her things and disappeared from the Evan's household.

***

A/N: See! I'm being a good girl and posting very quickly! Firstly, I am not anti-Christmas, I love the season, but I thought since Lily was a rebel, she's hate it. But will she for long? Find out next time! So what did you think of this? Please review! And Christine…THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! An old reader cam back! Yay! Ok…I'm waiting for all the others too and I'm wanting to meet some new readers too! 


	6. Not All Families Are Perfect

Chapter 6: Not All Families Are Perfect. 

Everything was spinning. Lily could feel her stomach tumble and she was starting to get dizzy. She couldn't exactly see anything as it was too bright and she could feel the ash hitting her face. Then with an almighty thud, the spinning stopped and Lily could feel herself being thrust forward towards a deep red carpet, at a great force.

"Ow…"Lily muttered as she picked herself off the floor. She coughed as she felt she had inhaled twice her bodyweight in ash. Ravis screeched from inside her cage. Lily let her out and she flashed an angry glare at her and flew to sit on a perch.

"Sorry Ravis, it was the only way." Lily apologised and coughed.

"Whoa! Lily, are you ok?" said a concerned voice from somewhere in front of her. She looked up and saw James staring at her with concern, shock, and some amusement.

"Peachy," Lily managed to say and started to cough more. It was then she noticed she was absolutely covered in ash, from head to toe, and that her hair was now a matted grey instead of its normal flaming red curls. When she finally stopped coughing, she exploded.

"THAT IS THE CRAPPIEST WAY OF TRAVELLING! WHOEVER INVENTED THAT SHOULD BE HANGED! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? TRAVELLING THROUGH A BLOODY FIRE! ASTHMATICS SHOULD SUE HIM…OR HER…WHOEVER MADE THIS STUPID FLOO POWDER!" Lily yelled, to no one in particular. She then looked at James who was shaking in silent laughter.

"JAMES! STOP THAT! I'VE HAD THE WORST DAY IN MY LIFE!" Lily now yelled at him.

"I'm sorry, but…that's just the funniest thing I've heard in ages," James managed to say through his laughter.

"James? What's all this yelling about?" came a female voice. Lily turned to the doorway and there stood a tall young woman. She was definitely James' mother. You could just tell because her warm brown eyes were identical to that of James. Her hair was long and a rich shade of dark brown, but more sleek than that of James' wild mop. She smiled at him but a startled expression followed as she took in the sight of Lily. 

"Err…mum, I'd like you to meet Lily Evan's, a friend of mines from school. I'm just going to go tell Sirius and Remus that you've arrived." James managed to say without laughing, though it looked very difficult. He then walked off. James' mother motioned for Lily to have a seat, to which Lily was much obliged.

"Hello Lily, James has said that you'd be coming. It's nice to meet you." She said warmly, accepting her even though she was in such a state.

"Yeah…um…nice to meet you too, Mrs Potter." Lily replied trying to be as polite as possible, even though she felt like shit. Lily notices a sad expression cross over James' mother for a brief second, but it soon faded. She smiled at her.

"You don't need to be so formal Lily! Just call me Nancy. I can see you had quite a journey!" she smiled as Lily started to shift about a little uncomfortably.

"Yeah, it was my first Floo journey," Lily muttered.

"Oh I thought so from all you're yelling!" Nancy commented and chuckled as Lily blushed.

"Well, it's the truth! It's just so stupid that way of travelling!" Lily said defending what she thought.

"To be honest with you, I agree with you. When I first travelled with Floo, I pretty much ranted on about how bad it was afterwards!" Nancy replied. Lily smiled, James' mother was nice.

"So Lily, this is quite a small cottage and we don't have many rooms. And this is the first time James has brought a female friend to stay, so, I was wondering if you would be uncomfortable sharing a room with three boys?" Nancy asked uncertainly. Lily nearly blushed but she hid it well, but the ash did seem to hide it.

"I don't mind, Sirius, Remus and James are like brothers to me," Lily said. Nancy smiled at her in a very thankful way.

"LILY!!!!" came a loud voice from the doorway. The next thing Lily knew was that she was rolling on the floor with a grinning Sirius.

"Get off me Sirius!" Lily screeched and kicked him off.

"Honestly Lily! Is that how you treat your brother-like friends?" Sirius grinned.

"Shut up!" Lily snapped and hit him upside the head. Remus and James laughed at their antics. Nancy smiled at them. Lily was most definitely a tomboy, so she'd fit in just fine here.

"Why don't you four go clean up, and I'll get dinner ready," Nancy said.

"Alright mum." James said. The three boys helped Lily with her luggage and they headed towards what must have been James room.

As James opened the room, Lily looked around in awe. The room was a dark blue and silver and it was littered with posters of Quidditch teams. There was a hanging mobile by the window with moons stars and planets and it had one side of James' room was totally devised to keep all his prank utensils in. Four hammocks were side by side. And the room was really messy, but what would you have expected with three 11-year-old boys sharing a room? This was Lily's haven.

"God this room is perfect! James…I am jealous," Lily announced.

"You should be." James said proudly with a grin.

They helped Lily unpack and Sirius was intrigued by Lily's guitar, he'd never actually seen a muggle instrument before. It was now horribly out of tune since Lily travelled with Floo Powder, but Remus pointed out that Nancy could probably tune it magically. 

Lily washed up and put on her favourite baggy trousers and green top. She tied up her red curls in a loose ponytail and headed towards the dining room. The cottage was small, but very homey and Lily liked how it had warm dark colours rather than the bright colours she had to put up with back at her home. Lily sat herself beside Remus and Nancy brought in the last dish for them. Lily vaguely wondered if Mr Potter would be joining them but kept her mouth shut. The meals prepared were similar to those in Hogwarts but they were homemade. It was nice.

"Alright, I'm going to sound really stupid, but where exactly are we?" Lily asked. Her home was in Dorset, and she didn't exactly know where Godric's Hollow was. The snowfall was a lot heavier outside so Lily was thinking she was up north somewhere.

"We're in Scotland actually, in a small area known as Abriachan. Not too far off Inverness." Nancy replied.

"It's cool up here. Because the muggles all around here are old and when they see me and James around with magic stuff, they think it's just their imaginations." Sirius commented.

"People here are really superstitious though. It turns out most of them are true. My mums been accused of being a witch, so has Sirius' for that matter. Also, when people annoy us me and Sirius set the kelpies off." James said with a slight smirk.

"Which you really shouldn't do, gets us into ever more trouble!" Nancy said in a scolding tone.

"Where about do you live Sirius?" Lily asked.

"Not too far off, just on the other side of the woods." Sirius said pointing out a small house on the other side.

"What about you Remus?" Lily asked.

"I live a little south of here, just pass the lake," Remus stated.

"I'm the odd one out, again. I live in Dorset, all the way south in England." Lily muttered.

"Aye, but yer one of us now, Lily. A Northerner." Sirius said in his best Scottish accent.

After dinner they all headed towards James' room and played a few games. Betting too. As always, Remus won all rounds of chess, although James did come close to beating him. Sirius and Lily were on a heated round of Exploding Snap. And when Sirius won, Lily was convinced he cheated. This lead to a 'friendly' brawl. After James and Remus held the arguing pair back, they decided to play Gob Stones. James and Remus sat between Lily and Sirius, because any slight snicker Sirius made would ensure him with a black eye if they weren't separated. 

Soon enough, the night took it's toll on the four friends and they set off to sleep. Lily lay on her hammock, but just couldn't sleep. She liked the hammock, it was very comfortable, but her conscious kept her awake. Her guilty conscious. James seemed to have a perfect relationship with his mother, and he was probably the same with his father. But what was she like? She had left her own home in a raged anger, but was it really just her parents and sister's fault? Lily sighed…anger management classes may actually do her some good.  But her parents had asked her to not be herself, they wanted her to put on a façade and act like a prissy perfect girl. They just didn't want her to be herself. Lily frowned and rolled over in her hammock and falling off it. Lily winced as she had landed a little obtusely and her wrist was very sore now. Hands helped Lily up and she stood facing James.

"It takes a while to get used to a hammock," James stated, smiling a little at her.

"Right, remind me to not toss and turn on a hammock," she smiled, brushing away some of the curls in her face.

"A tapping on the window caused them both to turn and Lily saw her black owl outside. She opened the window and let her in. Her owl had a pissed off expression on it's face, clearly still not happy with her since the Floo Powder incident. Lily thanked her took the letter.

_Lily, _

_       Where are you? Please dear, come back home. We're all really worried. Your mother passed out when you left and it took me quite a while to acknowledge what happened. Your mother was going to send a police search for you, but we knew that you'd probably gone somewhere safe, seeing as your owl flew back to us. Please come home dear. We miss you terribly._

_Love Dad. _

James read the letter over her shoulder and looked at Lily with a confused expression. 

"You didn't ask if you could come here?" James asked her questionably. Lily shook her head guiltily and looked up at James with a sad expression. She put away the letter.

"Why?" James asked again.

"I needed to get away from them." Lily answered straight. "That week at my house was a living hell. Especially since the truth spilled out." 

James took her hand and they headed towards the kitchen. He started to make her a hot chocolate drink as her eyes were turning empty and cold with the thoughts of her family.

"They're not happy with me James. They never have been. To cut a long story short, they told me that if I didn't change, if I didn't change my personality or character, they would disown me." Lily said. James stared at her in shock as he handed her some hot chocolate with whipped cream. 

"I'm sure it can't be that bad," James finally managed to say.

"It is James. Do you know who they want me to be more like? Petunia…my bitchy little sister! Apparently she's obedient and well behaved and doesn't have a single flaw to her. She's just so perfect. My dad basically said my behaviour is crap and that they wouldn't tolerate me if I continued being who I am. And just now, that letter, all it said was they wanted me to come home, no apology whatsoever." Lily said angrily. Lily drained her cup of the hot chocolate very quickly.

"Well Lily. I have to admit, your behaviour isn't always perfect." James started. She glared at him.

"Oh and yours is?" she asked sarcastically.

"No. I'll admit that too. But listen Lily, I'm siding with you on this. Don't change your personality, in my eyes; it's one of the greatest around. You're funny, witty and I'm sure you have quite a lot of intelligence behind that skull of yours." James said encouragingly, smiling at her. He grinned as he saw her blushing.

"Thanks James." She managed to utter.

"Any time Lil." He replied.

"James, I was wondering, um…where's your dad?" Lily asked. James's expression changed for a second, but he sighed. It was only fair he told her, she had revealed something about her family after all. James took a seat beside her on a kitchen stool.

"Well, as you can probably see, my mum is younger than most mum's around. My mum had me when she was quite young. I think she was 19. Well, after I was born, my mum had decided to tell my dad, but he had already married. So, he now pays child support and visits when he can. He'll be coming this Christmas, for a day or two. I don't actually expect him to come around a lot, since he now has a family of his own. I've never met my step-family, but I'm sure they're nice enough." James said. Lily's eyes widened. James was mature about the subject, even though he did seem immature at school.

"Whoa…dammit! I feel really stupid now! I called your mum 'Mrs Potter.'" Lily muttered.

"That's ok…Miss Potter, Mrs Potter, it's an easy mistake. She prefers being called Nancy anyway. But Sirius has dubbed her – Nance." James smiled. He then yawned tiredly. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired." James said sleepily.

They both headed to their respective hammocks and fell asleep. Lily woke up early the next morning to write a letter to her own father.

_Dad,_

_       I'm sorry about running off like that. I was just really angry and annoyed that day. All because of dearest Petty, poisoning my mind with garbage. Anyways, don't worry about me. I'm staying at a friend's house from school. Everyone's being nice to me and I feel happy. I actually promised my friend that I'd visit him on the train while we were coming home, and I can't break a promise. So I'll stay here until school starts. Ask Mum not to worry, I'm fine here. I'll see you whenever. Merry Christmas!_

_Lily._

Lily looked at her letter, and frowned a little. She set her quill on the paper again.

_Love Lily. _

***

A/N: Hey all! I thought this chapter would be sweet. After all the confrontations in the last chapter, I had to make this one sweet. And there are some slight hints of L/J! At the nice young age of 11. But nothing too serious will happen soon. ::hears you all moan about the lack of romance to come in the next chapters:: Bwahahahaha! I'm evil I know, but when the romance comes, it will smack you right in the face. Oh! And the more serious drama will come when the romance comes too! Aren't you all excited? ^_^ Anyways…I'm contemplating on making the next chapter a nice fluffy Christmas one or move them all back into Hogwarts. You decide! Tell me in your reviews? Ok? Or, if you don't want to review…e-mail me with your decision! ^_^


	7. Christmas

Chapter 7: Christmas __

Christmas was an enjoyable one this year for Lily. They often went outside in the show and had heated snowball fights. It would often be Lily and James against Sirius and Remus, but it was hilarious when Sirius and Lily were in the same team. They'd have a mutiny and battle each other, while James and Remus had given up hope for them. They also built the hugest snow-wizard in history. Lily still couldn't figure out how Remus had managed to make the wizard's hat so pointy. They used some stones for buttons and Sirius had the glorious job of carving out the wizard's face. The eyes were mismatched, the nose was abnormally long and Sirius had intentionally left out some of the teeth. They had decided to call their wizard 'Gunther.'  

After building the snow-wizard they headed out for a walk in the woods. They played Hide-and-Seek in the woods and it was virtually impossible to find Remus, because he blended in well with the woods. Lily was the easiest to find as her flaming red curls were easy to spot amidst the woods. Sirius suggested that they head for his cottage, which wasn't too far off. There Lily met up with Sirius' parents. They were nothing like him. He was loud and boisterous, while they were very calm and collected. Sirius had a striking resemblance to his dad. They both had the same type of face. Sirius had inherited his mother's blue sapphire eyes. The one thing that Sirius had inherited from both his parents was his love for pranks. All through out the house, a prank was pulled on one of the children. Sirius' parents were gentle and subtle with there pranks, whereas Sirius like to show off his pranks more. Lily like his parents, they were nice.

The four friends then headed back to James' cottage. And waiting outside for them were Nancy and a man standing beside here. He was very tall, and he had messy jet-black hair. Lily guessed that he was James' father. She had guessed right, because as they approached them, James received a hug and a noogie from his dad.

"Dad, this is Lily Evans, a friend of mines from school," James pointed to Lily. James' dad held out his hand for Lily to shake. Lily shook it.

"Nice to meet you Lily, I'm George, George Hamilton." he said. George then grinned at his son.

"So, James has got himself a girlfriend, you should have written to me about this!" he chuckled as James blushed a deep red.

"Dad, Lily's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend," James managed to say.

"Honestly, Georgie. You think James could pick up a girl as cute as Lily is? She's my girlfriend!" Sirius proclaimed putting his arm around Lily.

"In your dreams," Lily elbowed him, "You honestly think you can pick up a hot girl like me? Please!" Lily commented in her best prissy girl voice. She pulled Remus towards her and hugged him from behind.

"Remy here is MY boyfriend!" she said grinning.

"You heard her, I'M her boyfriend!" Remus laughed as he saw the fake hurt plague Sirius' face. But he then grinned.

"So 'Remy.' I never knew you had it in you." Sirius said with a suggestive wink.

"Oh…but there are a lot of things you don't know about me." Remus replied grinning. As soon as Sirius laughed and turned away, Lily noticed a saddened passive look that swept across Remus' features, but in a blink of an eye, it was gone. She thought it was strange. She always noticed these little differences in Remus. But he was so subtle about it; it was really hard to tell when these moments happened. It was one of those rare times Lily noticed it. Then again she was hugging Remus, so it was only natural for her to notice.

That evening was spent playing games with all of the family joining in. Lily had learned to play the Magical Christmas games which were a lot of fun. In this one game, you could either compliment your opponent or insult them, but it ha a catch. Your compliments or insults had to rhyme. It was hilarious for the onlookers as they watched Sirius and Lily play. It was always a heated debate on who would win. In the end, they decided to call it a draw. Ending it in a bone crushing handshake which Sirius was more than prepared for. 

The next morning, Lily's slumber was disturbed by her falling off the hammock, again.

"What the hell?!" Lily shouted groggily and saw the three boys laughing at her.

"Lily! It's Christmas! Presents!" Sirius said excitedly. Lily moaned.

"God you sound like Petty. Honestly, all three of you are acting like girls, all excited about presents," Lily snapped half heartedly and then yawned.

"Hey! That's just mean." James said in mock anger.

"And tilting my hammock and making me fall isn't?" Lily asked, almost snapping at them.

"I told you to use the bucket of water! She wouldn't be all snappy at us then. And she'd more awake." Remus commented.

"I'd have throttled you if you had done that." She warned them.

The three boys laughed and half dragged her to the living room. There underneath the Christmas tree were a pile of presents for all of them. As Lily opened hers she saw some from her parents, her Aunt Maple, and from Gladys. The whole day was enjoyed admiring presents and testing them out. They had to say goodbye to George who had to leave that day. The friends and Nancy enjoyed a Christmas dinner and they all shared jokes and cracked the Christmas Crackers. Christmas was well spent at Godric's Hollow, but soon enough it ended, and the four friends headed back to Hogwarts.

***

A/N: Hi! Ok, firstly, sorry for the shortness of this chapter! I wanted to base it all on Christmas, but, I'm more excited about my birthday coming up then Christmas right now! So this chapter was kinda hard to make it good. This is for **Kirina who wanted a fluffy kinda Christmas! Sorry if it wasn't fluffy enough, but I tried! Ok, I've got a few important things to say now, so please hear me out! **

**Lis: Yes, I totally agree with you. Lily and James are acting way too old for their age! It's kinda hard to make all the chapters as flashbacks so, I'm just going to leave it the way it was. Actually, as I wrote that chapter about Lily leaving home, I had my doubts in posting it because I have never seen 11 year old s act like that. Most people don't have the guts to say 'Merry fucking Christmas' in a spiteful manner to their parents! But here is my explanation for Lily using such words as that. Well one reason is, that she is a rebel, a full blown out one. And I know that when I was 11, I knew all these rude swear words but didn't use them because I knew they were rude. Whereas Lily has a wild streak, and since she knows these words, she'll use them. I'm making this Lily a freedom of speech Lily! I know it's hard to believe that 11 year olds would say that…but hey, this is the fan fiction world, and my warped little mind is letting her say that stuff. So I hope you'll forgive me when Lily continues acting like this!**

**Pippin: I don't know how many aliases you go under! To anyone who doesn't know, she's my best friend, and she keeps reviewing under different names. It gets kinda confusing! But I liked your review! I'm just waiting for Poppy to review again ::hint hint to Poppy::**

**Gary Skinner: Where have you been? Hunting through H/H I see! But I can't talk, I've been away for months with writer's block and I am VERY sorry for that. I hope you and all my older readers will accept my apologies! About most of the Marauders being Scottish ::blushes:: I couldn't help it! What can I say, Scots blood runs through my veins! I love my homeland too much! And I'm sure you'd like to take a stroll through the Scottish highlands again with my descriptive descriptions! Plus, I went to the west of Scotland for my holidays, so my brain is filled with new visions of Scotland, that are just waiting to be released onto paper! Plus, I was listening to some Celtic music as I wrote that chapter…so it was the only conscious thing for me to do! And, you see through my plot again! That's just typical you! Yes, there are going to be hints of Lily/Sirius before the Lily/James kicks in! I've missed reading your interesting reviews, so please review again! ^_^ And if you do, I might just concoct another H/H that has been in my mind for a while!   **


	8. Not That Bad

Chapter 8: Not That Bad. 

The February air cooled the corridors of Hogwarts. Outside, most of the snow had melted, however the crisp grass was painted with a touch of frost. The sky was bare, not a single cloud obscured the sun rise. The sun painted the sky in different colours, those of a light pink and orange haze. Lily squinted as the sun shone n her face. It was barely even dawn and she was awake, 'God…no sane person would be awake at this hour.' She thought bitterly. She tried blocking out the suns light but moaned as it always seeped through to her. 'I have officially chosen the worst ever bed in the whole of Hogwarts,' Lily thought and threw her covers off. She got up and stretched. She heard the light snores of her room mates and sighed. It was too early to wake them up, and she wasn't feeling cruel this morning. She gathered her black robes and wore them over her pyjamas. She then brought out her red and gold scarf and wrapped it around her neck. She stepped out of the girl's dorm and carried on up the stair case towards a window. She climbed out the window and grabbed the ledge jutting out. Hoisting herself onto the ledge, she came upon the conical shape of the Gryffindor Tower roof.

This was Lily's favourite spot in the whole of Hogwarts. She had discovered it shortly after she returned to Hogwarts from Godric's Hollow. Next to the Astronomy Tower, Gryffindor Tower was the highest tower and gave a breathtaking view. Lily would often stay there, whenever she woke up first, whenever she was bored, whenever she was angry or upset, or when ever she just wanted to be alone. No one bothered her up here, but then again, no one knew she came up here. These moments were the times Lily really felt like herself.  

 She noticed how the chimney started to produce some smoke, the fire had been started, indication that others were up. Lily made her way back into the tower, swinging herself into the window. She discreetly made her way to the girl's dorms and got ready for the school day.

***

"Gladys! I'm doomed!" Lily complained and dropped her head on the desk in defeat. They had been studying in the common room for their up-coming exams after the Easter Holidays. 

"Really Lily! You give up too easily once it comes to studying!" Gladys commented and rolled her eyes and turned the page of her Herbology book.

"Well, you try finding out where O'Rien would be during the months February, August and November when we're in the middle of March!" Lily said huffily.

"I've already found out, and no you can't copy my answers." Gladys said with a tone of finality. Lily started grumbling under her breath but Gladys just smiled to herself.

"You should ask Remus for help, he's really good at Astrology. Actually, he's really good at every subject but he seems to excel most in Astrology." Gladys pointed out to her, while scribbling more notes out of her Herbology textbook. Lily considered it for a moment and thought she could use all the help she could get. James and Sirius weren't around but she noticed looming about the fireplace.

"Oi! Peter! Where's Remus?" Lily shouted from her couch.

"He's in our dorm." Peter called back but then cowered under the glare of a prefect for disturbing the hushed silence in the common room. Lily headed for the boy's dorm and without even thinking, barged into the boy's dorms. Remus was putting on a t-shirt, but as Lily came in, he rushed, hurriedly into it.

"Hey! Relax Remus! I've seen you, Sirius and James change before in Godric's Hollow." Lily offered a quick wink.

"Nice things I saw too," Lily said suggestively and grinned as she saw a blush make it's way onto Remus' face.

"I'd really appreciate it if you knocked next time," he said rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed gesture. 

"Sure, sorry 'bout that." Lily apologised with a sincere smile. Remus nodded and smiled at her. It then struck Lily. Remus looked…well…awful. His skin was unusually pale and his mysterious eyes had lost their sparkle. Remus looked tired, no, exhausted. As if he had enough and just wanted to lie down.  Remus sat down on his bed with his lamp light illuminating his face. He looked almost vulnerable.

"So, what' up Lil?" he asked with a smile. A tired smile, but a smile none the less.

"Are you ok Remus? You look ill." Lily asked with concern and made her way to sit beside Remus. "I mean, maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey because frankly, I've seen snow with more colour than your skin right now," Lily said in a light hearted manner. Remus chuckled.

"I'll be fine Lily. It's just been kind of stressful with all these exams coming up and revision. My mum has fallen ill and I'm going to go see her tomorrow, through Professor Dumbledore's request." Remus explained, his fingers crossed behind his back. Remus hoped Lily would believe him and not see through his façade. 

"Aw, I'm sorry Remus. Send her my wishes ok?" she said in a comforting manner.

"Sure Lil. So, were you looking for someone on your way here, or just came here to startle me half to death whilst I was changing?" Remus asked jokingly.

"A bit of both actually!" Lily grinned and nudged him on the arm in a playful way.

"I was actually going to ask you for some help with Astrology. Gladys is being unreasonable and not letting me copy her answers." Lily explained. Remus chuckled again.

"Sure, I'll help. Let me just go get my star chart." He said and walked over to his trunk. As he searched for it, Lily examined the boy's dorm. It was the exact same replica of the girl's dorm except just messier. Or…in other words, exactly the same as her part of her dorm. Clothes were strewn all over the place and object reminiscent of used pranks were scattered everywhere. Finally, Remus cam back holding his complete star chart and explaining it to her, in terms Lily thought were more reasonable then what Professor Madrigal, the Astrology teacher  used. As Lily worked on the bed, Remus started to clean up a little. As he worked, Lily noticed how he got tired quite quickly, and how he remained a far away from the window as possible. He had a stony expression on his face, something that scared Lily a little. That expression of no emotion did not suit Remus one bit. Remus started to clear some of the things from his nightstand. He carried as many books as he could t his trunk. As he passed by, Lily noticed something flutter to the floor and picked it up.

It was an old photograph. It was crumpled and slightly torn at the edges, which had faded into a murky yellow over the years. It seemed quite fragile, so Lily took care in handling it. Remus didn't seem to notice Lily stop working, either that or he ignored that fact. However his ears perked up at the sound of Lily handling something. He turned and saw Lily looking curiously at a picture, an old old photograph. He stopped what he was doing and sat down beside Lily.

"Is that your twin brother?" Lily asked curiously. Remus peered at the picture and saw that old photo. A photo given to him a long time ago. It was a picture of his mother, slightly younger than she was now, a picture of himself and of his father.

"I'm an only child Lily. That's me in that picture." Remus replied.

"But you're eyes are blue in this photo." Lily said and looked up at him. Right now, they were bright fiery amber, with very faint light specks of blue.

"You're not blind? Are you? How many fingers am I holding up?" Lily said sticking up 4 fingers. Remus laughed a little and replied with 4.

"So, you're not blind. What's with the colour change in eyes, I've never heard of that happening before." Lily asked curiously, staring at Remus with anticipation. Remus was raking through his brain, trying to think of a reason. 'Why'd I always get into situations like this?' he wondered and sighed. Just then the door barged open with a grinning Sirius pounding into the room.

"Remus! You should have been there, it was so funny! Hi Lil…but…hey! What are you doing on my turf. This is the boy's dorm!" Sirius started. 

"Yeah, so?" Lily replied. Sirius' eyebrow rose and the he grinned a little too evilly for Lily's liking.

"Doesn't matter Lil, you're welcome here," he said angelically. Lily was having a feeling that she'll soon regret anything that may happen.

"Anyways…it was too funny! Me and James we gave Snape a wedgie and then made him sing 'Man, I Feel like a Woman' in his new high pitched voice courtesy of the previous wedgie." Sirius said quickly through his laughing. Lily and Remus looked at each other and then burst into laughter themselves. The photo was then forgotten, to Remus' extreme relief.

***

SPASH!

"Blllaaarrrgggghhhh!"

Gales of laughter were heard after the incoherent cry. Lily sat bolt upright in her bed, dripping wet. Her red curls were darker and curlier. Lily's eyes darted the room and saw a laughing figure running away. She scrambled out of bed after the person, who just so happened to be Sirius.

"SIRIUS! YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING PRICK! COME BACK HERE!" Lily yelled in a growl similar to that of a tiger's. She caught up with the hem of his robe and pulled him back. As he fell back on to her, she looked ready to punch him. But he grabbed her wrist before she could strike the blow. The force from running made her topple forward, and the two first years tumbled down the staircase, like tumbleweed in the wind. Both of them landed sprawled on the common room floor, Lily coming off worse from the tumbling. She groaned as she rubbed her shin. Sirius saw her ruffled expression and burst out laughing. She hit him upside the head.

"YOU STUPID GIT!!" She yelled.

"Sorry Lil, but ever since Remus suggested throwing water over you back in Godric's Hollow, I couldn't resist." Sirius managed to say through his wheezing laughter. A laughing figure came up to them.

"You're not even supposed to be in the girl's dorm!" Lily huffed angrily.

"And I quote… 'Yeah, so?'" Sirius quoted from when she had been on the boy's dorm. James stumbled upon them.

"It was hilarious Lil! We got the water, courtesy of the lake." James continued laughing. Lily glared daggers at him.

"YOU were in on it too?" Lily asked almost defeated. James nodded proudly and continued laughing.

"YOU TWO SICKEN ME! I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY!" Lily exploded and she stomped off to her dorm, slamming the door.

"I'm happy, are you?" James asked.

"Never felt happier." Sirius replied and they burst out laughing.

As the day went on Lily started to plot her revenge. And had it all figured out by charms. She had slipped some Fillibuster Fireworks into two Whoopee Cushions. She placed them on James and Sirius's chair before they sat down in Charms. As soon as they sat down, the cushions exploded and fireworks blazed from Sirius and James. Once the smoke cleared, the boys were sitting on the floor with stunned expressions on their faces. Their hair was all spiked up and blackened even more by the explosion. The whole class laughed at having the two most infamous pranksters pranked on. She had promptly got a detention for her antics, but she was as happy as ever with her achievement, no…her revenge.

Soon enough, the exams came and even though Lily didn't study as much as she as others had, she had scraped up some good marks. Gladys got honours in all her exams and Lily was happy for her. She had worked hard and achieved what she had wanted. Remus had come up just as equal as Gladys did.  Sirius and James well, they had surprised the whole school with their good grades. They were never seen studying and people were wondering if they had vaguely cheated, but that wasn't possible as they had anti-cheat quills. 

Soon enough, the school year had ended, and as Lily thought back on it; it wasn't that bad. 

***

A/N: I don't know about you, but I thought this chapter was kind of pointless! Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed writing it, but it was hard! I needed something interesting to happen between Christmas and the Summer. And those were the only things I could come up with! I'm quite happy with the Remus bit though! Right....it took me eight bloody chapters for the first year! God…if I continue writing like this until Lily's 7th year…that'll be something like ::does her math::…56 Chapters?!?!?! Ack! And I was considering carrying on till a little bit after Hogwarts! Eeekk…Ok…well…yeah. I'll need your reviews to keep me going! Second Year will be more exciting! It's all in my head!

But do you know what else is in my head…that new H/H fic I've been promising Gary. It's plaguing my mind…and I want to write it now, but I'm gonna finish this first. Last time I tried to do more that one fic at a time, I completely lost it! Never again am I going to do that! 

Oh, and Lis! You're a star! I remember reading that quote in a book a long time ago and I loved it. But I forgot who the person was and I got all confuddled! Thanks so much for your help! 


	9. Back to Normal?

Chapter 9: Back to Normal? 

It would be immensely awkward to meet up with her parents after the events last Christmas. But she couldn't run away from them forever. As she stepped into the muggle-world she once again saw the mound of parents, anxiously waiting for their children to arrive. Lily immediately saw Nancy and she waved at her. She smiled and waved back. James had been a little behind her, but soon enough, he clattered through the barrier quite noisily. Nancy rolled her eyes and shook her head in silent laughter at her son's antics. James looked slightly embarrassed but brushed it off. Nancy walked up to Lily and James.

"Hey you two. Enjoy school?" she asked and ruffled their hair.

"Why yes mother dearest, it was absolutely spiffing," James replied in a posh snooty accent.

"That's what I like to hear. I'll be taking Sirius and Remus home with us too, their parents were a bit busy today," Nancy said to James.

"So, Lily. Did James behave? I think there are a few owls with reprimanding letters that got lost up in the highlands, still trying to find Godric's Hollow!" Nancy said half sarcastically.

"No. James was a right pain in the arse this year! Do you know what he and Sirius did to me! They threw cold LAKE water on me whilst I was sleeping, they nearly ruined my Transfiguration essay by 'accidentally' spilling my inkwell and they sneak into the girl's dorm!" Lily replied with a grin on her face.

"Lily! What did I tell you about 'snitching' on people! And mother…I cannot believe that you would think I would commit such lowly, ridiculous crimes that would therefore conclude in getting a Howler sent to you! You know I'm your little angel." James replied smiling angelically and trying to look very innocent.

"No one likes a kiss ass," Nancy grinned at her son and ruffled his hair once more.

"And people wonder why I have messy hair," James muttered, but both of them heard and laughed. A lot of clattering was heard and Sirius appeared through the barrier. He came to an abrupt stop, and started dusting himself off. He saw James, Lily and Nancy and grinned.

"Why, if it isn't Nancy! How delightful it is to bask in your wonderful presence." Sirius greeted in a posh snooty accent similar to the one James had used earlier. Nancy raised one eye brow.

"Hello to you too Sirius," she smiled. "Why are you both speaking like that? Has Hogwarts turned into an etiquette school too?" she asked. 

"No, we're just being the charming gentleman that we've always been," James replied with an air of nonchalance.

"Yes, for we are both god's gift to you beautiful ladies," Sirius added on. Lily rolled her eyes and hit Sirius upside the head.

"Maybe this is a sign of the apocalypse?" Lily asked Nancy. Nancy nodded as she laughed at the two boys. Remus then appeared through the barrier and pushed his cart towards his friends.

"Hi Nancy," Remus greeted.

"Oh good! James and Sirius haven' rubbed off on you! Hello Remus, how've you been?" she asked with a brief look of concern that swept her face, but was gone in the blink of an eye.

"I'm fine," Remus replied catching on her subtle implication. She smiled at him. Soon enough, Peter bounded through the barrier.

"Hi Peter! My, you've grown over the year!" she said as Peter blushed at her compliment.

"Thanks Nancy. But I've got to go. I can see my dad over there. I'll see you all later!" He replied and waved back at his friends.

"Are your parents here Lily? Because we can easily wait until they arrive." Nancy told her. Lily looked around the station and didn't find her parents there.

"If you wouldn't mind," Lily replied a bit sheepishly.

"Oh yes…I hope we get to meet that lovely sister of yours." James commented and Sirius started to snicker. Remus and Nancy hadn't met Lily's sister yet, so they had no idea what she was like.

"She'll probably be here; my parents don't let her stay at the house by herself." Lily replied with a slightly annoyed look on her face. "It's a shame I can't do magic over the holidays, then I could do something really bad to her in anytime that she might…no…_will annoy me!" Lily sighed._

"Oh don't worry Lily, because when there's a will, there's a way and I have the way!" Sirius said grinning mischievously. He pulled out a velvet deep red pouch from his pocket and handed it to Lily. Lily looked curiously at the pouch and opened it. Inside were different gadgets to pull pranks that would last up to 24 hours. Lily grinned in acknowledgement. 

"And we'll probably come and visit you every now and then," James said. All of a sudden, summer seemed bearable to Lily. As the crowd slowly began to fade, Lily started to see the familiar faces of her family. They smiled and walked towards her, waving merrily at her. Well, her parents did, Petunia was too busy gawking at something, or rather, someone.

"Lily! It's so good to see you!" her mother exclaimed and hugged her daughter. Lily blushed crimson and tried to escape her mother's embrace. When her mother finally let go, she had unshed tears sparkling in her eyes but she wiped them away quickly. She then looked at everyone around her.

"So, Lily, are you going to introduce us to you friends?" her father asked, grinning. Lily was flabbergasted. Her parents, being this civil and loving towards her, in a train station in front of her friends. Sirius nudged her from behind and knocked her out of her train of thought.

"Oh…err…well…yes. Um…ok," Lily started to stutter, still surprised. James and Remus laughed at her, whereas Sirius rolled his eyes and started on the introductions.

"Mr Evans! Let me introduce you to, James Potter, my partner in crime and marauding chief of Hogwarts, and his wonderful mother, Nancy Potter. My buddy over there is Remus Lupin, Hogwarts most intelligent and intellectual guy and I'm Sirius Black, prankster extraordinaire and Lily's current boyfriend and future husband." Sirius grinned. 

"Sirius!" Lily shouted and hit him. "Dad, he's not my boyfriend, he never will be because he's the most annoyingly arrogant guy to ever exist!" Lily ranted.

"See! We were meant to be!" Sirius grinned. Lily's parents laughed at the friends.

"I'm sure you'd make a great son-in-law!" Lily's mother joked.

"You're all against me…" Lily muttered.

"Aw, come on Lil, it won't be that bad! Just make sure I get to be godfather to any kids that you'll have," James smirked while giving her a noogie.

"Go to hell!" Lily snapped. They all just laughed.

"Well, I'm Ryan Evans, this is my wife, Francesca and this is Petunia," he said in a way of introduction.

"Hello," Petunia said in a silky voice, in the direction of the boys. It took all their willpower to not burst out laughing at her. She was definitely a site, clad in a pink skirt and a pink leather jacket. Her eyes bore into the boys beside Lily. She thought she looked flirtatious, but anyone who would glance at her just then would think a fly had flew into her eye.

"Well, we better get a move on. It was nice to meet you Mr Evans, Mrs Evans. I hope that you'll allow Lily to come visit us during the holidays!" Nancy said smiling at them.

"Of course! Just as long as we get the pleasure of meeting these boys in the summer too!" Lily's mother replied. Nancy nodded and she, James, Sirius and Remus exited the station. 

"What charming young boys. They're quite a catch Lily!" her mother commented and winked at her. Lily moaned a little but gave up. It seemed like her parents firmly thought that one of these boys would be her future husband. They approached the car and Lily's father hauled her trunk into the car. Lily sat at her usual seat at the back. As she buckled up her seatbelt Petunia grabbed onto her arm.

"I _have to talk to James." Petunia demanded of Lily._

"What? No way! Anyways, isn't he a freak like me?" Lily asked, with a brow raised. Petunia let the question fly out the window and just squeezed Lily's arm tighter.

"I really need to talk to James, invite him over to our place during the holidays!" Petunia ordered and then let go of Lily's arm.

The drive home was full of questions on the school, about her friends, how she liked Hogwarts and what she saw herself doing as a witch in the future. Lily answered as vaguely as she could, not really wanting to go in depth about the school year. She was tired, and even having to hear Petunia chew on some bubblegum and twirl her blonde hair was annoying Lily to extreme measures. As soon as they reached home, Lily grabbed her guitar and Ravis' cage and headed for her room, leaving her dad to haul her trunk back into the house.

Once she got to the peace of her room she checked all her things, making sure Petunia hadn't ruined anything.  She let Ravis out of her cage and the owl hooted gratefully. She flew around the room, avoiding Petunia's side and then flew out the window. Lily watched as her owl flew off. She was the only sane being Lily knew in the house right now, but her parents weren't being all that bad, they were being bearable. But if they continued acting all sweet and happy-go-lucky around her, she might just crack, again. Lily pulled out her guitar and strummed on it. She started to play some tunes that she had learnt and just left her home for that small time to drift into her own personal private world, where no one bothered her.

As days passed, Lily made sure she was far away from the house. Her parents seemed to have taken her leaving at Christmas very seriously and had completely changed their attitude towards her. Lily had to admit that they were being nice, but too annoyingly nice. Petunia had even started to complain about their showering her with praise. It was quite comical to see Petunia get all huffy for lack of attention. She had always been a baby, always wanting attention, but now that she wasn't getting it, it made her all pouty. Lily herself liked the praise, but they were doing it constantly, and that was annoying her like hell. 

Lily stepped outside her door and went for a walk. She walked wherever her feet took her and her mind would wander off whenever she saw certain things like the school. She remembered all the fights she had with the boys there and all the bitching she had to put up with when the girls were around. Lily shook her head and headed for a park that she used to roam about whenever she was seriously pissed off. It was a nice place, with gritty pathways and it had swings, slides, climbing frames and a tower for the kids to use. Lily made her way towards the swing. She stood on the seat and started to swing it gently. The sun shone down on the park brightly and Lily's red curls shown brightly from their loose ponytail. Some fiery strands made their way towards Lily's pale skin and it framed her face perfectly and made her green eyes stand out even more. Lily looked up at the tower and noticed several pairs of eyes watching her. She glared at the eyes looking down on her and jumped off the swing. She hated being watched by people that she couldn't see. Then, a head popped up from the tower to look at her, a cold sneer plastered on his face.

"Well…if it isn't Little Miss Tiger Lily. How's that preppy FREAK show boarding school been doing for you?" the boy asked grinning menacingly. Lily knew the boy immediately. He just never learned from all the beatings she had given him; that *Edward Beattie really was as stupid as he looked. Lily's eyes flashed angrily. Another boy popped up beside him, it was his little crony.

"Yeah, Petunia told us all about that freakish school! And it's an all-boy school too. Your parents must be really screwed if they don't know your gender!" he laughed. Lily was now really confused.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lily asked, angrily but confused none the less.

"Well, she must have amnesia or something, she doesn't even know that she goes to St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal _Boys!" he yelled laughing his head off and pointing at Lily._

"Why you little bitch!" she screamed back at him and partly cursing at Petunia also.

"No wonder you're such an ass! You really think that an all boy's school would really enrol a girl?" Lily asked almost fuming.

"Well, you are…well…very tomboyish, and rather on the manly side." He stated and the other boy snickered.

"Well, St Brutus's would probably never enrol you, seeing as you are a _girl that has gone terribly wrong." Lily retorted._

"If I'm a girl that's gone wrong, what are you then?" he asked brow raised. Lily picked up a stone from the ground and threw it up idly catching it without hesitation.

"A girl with perfect aim," she said and threw the stone hard. It hit him smack in the forehead and he squealed like a pig in pain. The boys surrounded Edward worriedly as some blood had started to ooze from the wound.

"Find the bitch! Kill her if you have to!" he yelled angrily as tears of pain made their way out of his eyes. But as the boys left the tower, she was no where to be seen.

***

A/N: Hi everyone! Right, firstly, sorry for that delay. I have an explanation or an excuse if you're going to be pessimistic! Well, I was going to write this chapter as a really long summer chapter…but I couldn't! It's very hard to come up with several events to come up in the summer, but I have some ideas!

So, Lily's parents are being more civil to her…and some of Lily's old fire is burning up again! What'll happen next? I'll tell you all later!

And guess what, I've broken a promise. I've decided to work on two fics at once! I know I said I wouldn't but…I seriously need to write this one because…er…I just have to! If I don't I'll forget all my ideas! And personally, I REALLY like this idea. So I hope you'll all read it! Because…yeah…I like you readers…you all kick immense ass!

Now for my shoutouts:

**Pippin: You know you like my singing! You could listen to my angelic and beautiful choir boy voice singing for ages! And everyone…should listen to Tenacious D because, they are way too funny and for some reason, the song 'Wonderboy' fits in so well with Harry…and Draco for that matter!**

**Starbu: I think I'll have some body guards around me from now on. I have a low tolerance for pain…and kicking my ass everyday until I post chapters is making me worried! But I'm really happy you like my fic!**


	10. Lily's Birthday

Chapter 10: Lily's Birthday.

The news of Edward Beattie's injuries had reached the Evans. And they couldn't let Lily off with that, so her punishment, being grounded for a week and helping out in every household chore. Lily had just rolled her eyes at the punishment. At least she had got revenge on that little fart that annoyed her so much when she was in primary school.  It had been so annoying because he always thought he was better than everyone else, a self righteous bastard was what he was in Lily's opinion.

After a week of scrubbing, cleaning, polishing and vacuuming, Lily was free of her punishment. Only to be landed with another, her birthday. 

Lily groaned, her birthday was always the most disastrous day of her life. And she had no doubt that tomorrow would be the same. Her parents always had a party, and half the time, Lily didn't know who the guests were, sometimes she thought the party-goers were just hired. Those who she did know were either Petunia's friends or family. It was ok when her Aunt Maple and her cousin (who had a gothic charm and appearance) came over. They were always different from the other guests and that's why Lily liked them. However, they could rarely come because of busy times and they also lived in Mexico, so that was yet another flaw.

Another thing that she hated were the presents. They were in her opinion, very retarded. They weren't useful to her in anyway and they just made cluttered up the little space she had in her room. Many of the gifts she received were the things Petunia would most like, for example, make up and cuddly toys. Most of the time, she ended up throwing her gifts away or giving them Petunia who would readily take anything offered to her.

And yet another problem that always occurred on her birthday, Petunia. She happened on her birthday. She'd always manage to do something that annoyed Lily's to immeasurable extremes, and they often ended up fighting with each other. By the end of the day, Petunia would end up crying, Lily would be royally pissed and she'd get into trouble by her parents for making Petunia cry. 

***

Lily woke up to find Ravis staring down at her. She was startled at seeing those yellow eyes first thing in the morning, but at least it wasn't Petunia. That would be the worst. She noticed Ravis holding a letter out to her. Lily yawned and took it. As she opened it, water came spurting out at her. Lily immediately closed the envelope and stared at the letter. 'What the…?' Lily thought, dripping wet. She opened it again, this time, no water doming out. She pulled out the parchment, which was full of water droplets, dyed red. The droplets started to form a message.

_ Lily,_

_Hey! How's you? Me, Sirius, Remus and Peter are fine. We've been having fun pulling pranks on the old folk here and playing quidditch. But it's starting to get boring around here and we need to get out! We went to Diagon Alley yesterday and incidentally met up with Gladys. She's been bored stiff too, so we all decided to drop by and visit you. Don't know when though, but as soon as possible. So, don't go ANYWHERE for the next five days, because we're coming! Aren't you excited? My mum would come, but she says that she has some huge potion to work on, so with us out of the way, she can get on with it. Well…I felt so loved after that! Anyways…see ya later!_

_From-your-most-hansomest-coolest-greatest-niftest-bestest-friend,_

_James (the one and probably only) Potter._

_P.S: It was Sirius's idea for the water thing. Can't wait to see you throttle him! _

A smile swept Lily's face as she knew that her best friends were going to come over. Maybe not on her birthday but most definitely sometime soon. She quickly scrawled down a reply saying that they should come over quickly.

Breakfast time was rather annoying as her mother kept on saying that her baby was growing up. And her father was just as worse, he kept on talking to her about the responsibilities of 12-year-olds. She opened birthday cards that came from distant relatives and friends. Her mother insisted on opening her present. Lily opened the small package and her eyes widened as she saw what it was.

"Mum! You can't give me this!" Lily blurted out.

"No Lily. It's been with me for too long. It's yours now." Her mother replied smiling down at her eldest daughter. Lily held out the bracelet. It was a charm bracelet. Full of different charms, charms that her mother had collected ever since she was 12. Not only her mother, but all the way to her mother's great-grandmother. So it really was quite full, and special. When Lily had been younger, she had always wanted to wear it but her mother hadn't allowed it. But now it was hers. To keep. 

"I expect you to add more charms to it as you go on wearing it." Her mother announced smiling proudly at her daughter as Lily put it on.

"It's a bit ironic. A charm bracelet, and my favourite subject is Charms at school." Lily commented. Her father had given her a new outfit, which was cool in Lily's opinion. It was slightly strange though seeing as her father didn't really like her taste of clothing. Petunia hadn't bought anything for Lily as she was in a mood with Lily as usual. And now that Lily had been given her mother's charm bracelet, she was positively livid. She stomped out of the kitchen and up to her room.

Lily had sat down to watch something on the TV. She couldn't leave the house in case her friends came. There wasn't anything interesting on, so she tried reading. However, Lily had never been the most dedicated reader and she was bored as soon as she got midway down the first page of her book. She gave up and decided to enter the war zone; her and Petunia's bedroom where a currently huffy Petunia resided in.

She opened the door and made way to her side of the room. Petunia lay on her bed facing the ceiling. Lily knew how much Petunia had wanted the bracelet as much as she had wanted it. But she didn't get it, just because she happened to be born later. Lily knew she'd be pissed if she was in Petunia's position.

"So, Petty, what's up?" Lily asked, hoping to have some civil conversation with her and at least cheer her up a little.

"Go away Lily!" she snapped and turned away from her. Lily crossed her room and went on to Petunia's side. She sat on her bed and looked at Petunia, her back still facing her.

"Oh come on Petty! I was only trying to be nice!" Lily said.

"No, you are going to flaunt that stupid bracelet at me and try and make me jealous! Well it's not working!" Petunia said huffily, still facing away from her.

"I don't sink as low as that Petty, despite what you may think." Lily replied, not letting her temper get the better of her. Petunia just sniffed.

"Are you crying?" Lily asked questioningly. Sure she had seen Petunia cry before, but all those times, she had forced her tears out, not actually cried.

"No! Go away Lily! You're the last person I want to talk to!" Petunia remarked angrily.

"Tough shit Petty. I want to stay in my…no…our room." Lily corrected herself. Petunia didn't reply just gave Lily the silent treatment.

"Oh come on Petty! I'm trying to be nice to you for a change and you're just blowing me off! The only time that I remember being remotely nice to you was just before you started going to school! Now I don't know about you, but I regret not actually being nice to you all those years, but you didn't give me much of a choice but to be nasty!" Lily ranted. Petunia slowly turned to face her. A stony expression on her face. 'Is she always this cold-hearted?' Lily thought as she saw that expression. But then, slowly enough, Petunia hugged her. Lily was little shocked at the gesture but awkwardly hugged her back, patting her back.

Petunia smiled at her warmly for the first time in years, and that was the best birthday present she could ever give Lily. A very tender and mutual understanding was what they had shared.

"And you know what, James and his friends are coming over some time soon, maybe today, I'm not sure. But he's definitely coming some time soon." Lily told her. Petunia brightened up immediately and started to get excited.

"Really! I can't wait! Oh no! WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?!" she suddenly screamed out loud. She instantly went through her drawers and wardrobes. Lily kept some smartass comments to herself and grabbed her guitar. As she headed towards the door, as she turned the knob, she said over her shoulder, "Wear whatever you like Petty. But don't wear any make up. You're a lot prettier without all that stuff on your face." Lily said and left, leaving her sister staring at the door with a slight tinge to her face.

Lily headed into the back garden and sat underneath the alcove. It was the only place which wasn't decorated as the party was going to be outside in the garden. She strummed at her guitar and started playing a tune that she had made up through improvisation.  Lily noticed a black dot in the sky and saw that as it got closer, it was her owl Ravis. She landed and perched herself on Lily's head. It was quite a site, because Lily's bright red long curls was the complete opposite to Ravis' black feathers. It wasn't long until her mother summoned her inside to go and get ready for the party.

"You should go get dressed! Wear the new outfit that your father bought!" she said and ushered Lily upstairs. Lily stepped into the ankle length black velvet skirt and the purple velvet top with green trimmings. She like it, even though she usually never wore skirts, this one was ok. As she headed downstairs, she saw that Petunia had taken her advice and didn't wear make up. She wore a blue dress, which was quite a change from the pink things that she usually wore. Lily gave a small smirk to her, which Petunia returned, but it quickly went away. Soon enough, the door bell rang and the first few guests arrived. They were people Lily hadn't seen a lot and didn't actually know that well. They wished her a happy birthday and gave her presents and card. Music was played and food was starting to get served.

As more guests arrived, it started to get more crowded and noisy. You could hear the sound of the barbeque and music was being played quite loudly. Some of Petunia's friends came and gave Lily the cold shoulder. Petunia didn't do anything about it, but lily didn't really expect her to. Even though they decided to get along, they probably wouldn't show it in public. 

Lily's cousins, neighbours, family friends and family all came…and to her horror, so did Edward Beattie. What were her parents thinking? Did they want another fight to happen? Lily stormed to her mother.

"Mum…what's Edward Beattie doing here?" Lily asked through gritted teeth. Her mother looked towards Edward and his little posse of friends. They were sharing cold glares at Lily.

"Well, after that incident the past week, I thought this would be a good way to apologise to him about the injury. I want you on you best behaviour!" her mother warned.

"Apologise? Why should I apologise for something that was his own bloody fault?" Lily asked glaring at her mother.

"Now Lily. I don't care about what happened, but he's here. I don't want any arguments or fights. So just behave yourself." Her mother said sternly and started to tend to some more food. Lily stormed away from her mother muttering something about 'heinous people.'

As the party went on, Lily avoided talking to anyone at all costs. And if anyone asked her to dance she would simple give them a look that said '_bugger off.' Then the worst thing that could possibly happen happened._

"So Evans, softening up are you?" drawled Edward in a way of a greeting. Lily just rolled her eyes and looked away.

"What? Birthday girl's giving me the silent treatment? No comebacks? You're getting weak Evans." He snickered.

"Then why is that bandage still around your head?" Lily asked, giving him a very sly smile. He fumbled a little.

"Is it there for decoration or are you trying to make me feel guilty?" Lily asked standing up and folded her arms. She looked down on him. The boy was smaller than her and he cowered a little under her height. She waited a little bit, expecting a comeback but the boy didn't say anything.

"Piss off Eddy…unless you want another beating." She glared at him and he walked away. Lily smiled smugly; she had won that word sparring round. But she didn't want to have to mingle with anyone else so she slyly headed inside. As she passed the living room, she noticed something peculiar. 'That's odd. No on lights the fire place in summer.' Lily thought. But then she did a double take as she saw the fire turn green and five figures appear.

"This better be the right house Sirius. We're running short on excuses as to why we're popping out of fireplaces!" Remus said in a scolding tone.

"Relax! I'm positive it's this one! I did my research!" Sirius said indignantly.

"You mean you dad did! He's the Ministry worker!" Peter added.

"Me…my dad…same thing!" Sirius said huffily.

"You keep telling yourself that Sirius." James said patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Hey, looks like there's a party going on," Gladys commented as she saw the streamers outside.

"Yeah. My birthday." Lily finally said appearing from the door.

"LILY!" Sirius was about to run up and give her a bear hug but he was abruptly pushed away.

"Not so fast Mister! You've got a lot of cold shouldering before I ever forgive you for that prank letter!" Lily glared at Sirius. He just grinned sheepishly.

"Aw come on Lily! It was only a joke!" Sirius said exasperated.

"Gladys! How've you been! You disappeared after we reached the barrier!" Lily said, completely ignoring Sirius.

"I'm fine Lily! Happy Birthday!" Gladys smiled and gave Lily a small hug.

"Yeah Happy Birthday!" The four boys said.

"You should have told us it was your birthday; we'd have bought you some presents." James said. 

"Nah! It's ok. But I'm glad you guys are here because this party is as dull as hell and it's full of people who I dislike and hate." Lily told them.

"Never fear! Sirius is here to brighten up this party!" Sirius said putting his arm around Lily and nearly strangling her.

"James, I'm started to get scared." Peter said sarcastically. James laughed a little.

"Well…we did happen to bring a few items with us, so this party will be a lot better with us a round." James commented.

"Yeah! We're great at crashing parties!" Sirius commented pointing at himself, James, Remus and Peter. Lily grinned.

"All right! Let's go out then." Lily said. Sirius whooped and dragged Peter and Remus with him outside.

"Oh James. I should warn you. My sister seems to be slightly infatuated with you." Lily and Gladys laughed at the look of horror that swept his face.

"Well…that's just swell." He commented.

As they walked outside into the garden, they bumped into Sirius, Remus and Peter. Sirius looked thoroughly excited about the party. It was full of muggles after all…and he'd only been to parties with witches and wizards. 

"Oh this is going to be fun."

***

A/N: Oooohhhh! A cliffhanger…well…kind of anyway! I was planning to write all of Lily's birthday as one big chapter, but then I thought I'd make y'all wait! Evil aren't I! So, if you wanna find out what happens next…you'll have to wait and read the next chapter. And have a laugh as James tries to avoid Petunia and her friends throughout the whole party. I finally thought I should add in more of Peter (murderous scum), because he was their friend after all and he was 'good' back then. I enjoyed writing this chapter! And I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please review! You'll make my day! Oh! And I'd love you for life if you checked out my latest fic! 'Trusting A Killer'! It's basically about how Remus starts to trust Sirius while he's on the run! I mean…when Harry was about to face off with Sirius during PoA, Remus couldn't have taken just one look at Sirius and say he was innocent! My story leads up to that incident! So please go read it!

**Miranda: Thank you so much for your review! I really needed to read that because I know my story is quite 90's rather than 60's/70's! your comments really got me thinking and I really appreciate that! About the CD player part ^_^; well…it's hard to keep up with technology these days! I never knew the CD player came out around about the late 80's early 90's! But then again with Minidisc players, and MP3's and all this other music technology stuff, I guess you start to forget about some of the other stuff! I certainly do not think you were a jerk or anything! I really do appreciate your comments! And I'm glad you like my story! ^_^**

**Ruby: Wow! God I'm honoured that you reviewed my measly story! I love reading your L/J's! I really like that one with Lily as the cool tomboy Princess of Bavaria and James the ace Prince of Hungary! It kicks ass! And also that love/hate fic you wrote with them able to read each other's minds! I usually don't read love/hates but your one was just way too funny! I really like that one! I never knew James was supposed to be a rich boy! Oh well…if it is true…I can make it fit into my story, I've got it all planned! And don't worry, Lily will make it as Head Girl and for semi-good reasons! It's all in my head!**

**Starbu: I have my body guards! Start kicking my ass…I'll send my very vicious fluffy white poodles on you! And they do bite! ^_^ Hopefully I won't have to send Clarice, Maude and Deirdre (my poodles) on you! Because I don't think I'll stop updating this in quite a while!**

**Gary Skinner: Hehehe…I like the way you think! But I was planning on putting Sirius on the Quidditch team…but that can be rearranged! And…who says Sirius has to be the bold one and attempt the first snog! ::snickers:: Oh! And that H/H I promised to write for you…it's starting to look very promising in my mind! I so want to give you a hint about it, but I also want to surprise you! It's tearing me apart!!!! I really want to tell you about it!**


	11. Mayhem

Chapter 11: Mayhem. 

"Oh this is going to be fun…"

…It was absolute mayhem. There was screeching, screaming, yelling and very foul smells. And Lily really didn't want to know how James and Remus had managed to get someone's underwear up on their flagpole. It was a rather disturbing colour of pink and what made it even worse was that they were Y-fronts.  

Peter had planted invisible mouse traps all over the place, so every now and then you could hear someone yell 'oh bugger!' and jump about yelping that they had hurt themselves. 

Sirius had spiked the punch bowl. But instead of people passing out, they inflated to triple their size and started to sing in operatic voices. What made it a really funny sight was that each Marauder would grab one of the inflated people and bounce them like a ball. And you would hear a small 'ouch!' amidst the singing.

Mr and Mrs Evans were panicking. Something that looked like a jumping bean rolled up to them. They looked at it until it exploded. They were engulfed in a green smoke and when it finally started to go away, where Lily's parents should have been stood two rather dazed turtles.

"Lily…I think we should just maybe stop them." Gladys commented as she saw people yelping, being bounced, and being transfigured all around her.

Lily just looked at the chaos around her. She was mildly shocked but the hilarity of it all was getting to her. She burst out laughing as she saw Sirius throwing some of the inflated people (still singing their opera songs) at Petunia's friends. They couldn't really run away fast enough and were bowled over by them.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter started to gang up on the boys who hadn't had a prank pulled on them. And Lily was immensely amused to see the scared look coming over Edward Beattie's face. It was priceless. Her four friends leapt onto them and after a lot of shouting, screeching and girly cries, Edward Beattie and his gang of boys had enchanted wedgies and were running around the garden in pain.

The four boys looked around them and smiled proudly. They looked fairly smug and the expression on their faces clearly read, 'our work here is done.' And it really was. They looked over and saw that Lily was laughing her head off, clutching a stitch at her side. Gladys just rolled her eyes at the immaturity of it all, but the laughter in her eyes gave her away. 

A shocked gasp came from behind them. Their heads snapped in the direction of the door and there stood Petunia. She had gone into the house because she had spilt her orange juice on her dress. Here eyes darted around the whole garden, there were turtles, bouncing inflated guests, boy running around with pained looks on their faces and basically, the garden looked like trash. Of course she had heard the havoc of it all in her room, but she just thought that the party was just getting rowdy. 

"Petty." Lily greeted grinning at the mess around her. "You missed the show." She laughed as she saw the boys preen from the corner of her eye. Petunia cautiously stepped into the garden, here eyes widened at everything around her. 

"Wha…what…did...y-you do?!" she asked, a look of horror on her face.

"Oh…my friends came over." She said and nodded her head over at Gladys, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

Petunia's eyes practically bulged at the sight of James.

Simultaneously, the four boys face held a rather evil grin. Lily caught on as their gaze was set on Petunia. Under normal circumstances, she would have let them carry out their deed on their prank, but given that they had a mutual understanding earlier on, she couldn't let them go through with it.

"No. Whatever you were going to do, forget it. Save it for school." Lily warned them. All of them looked a little disappointed but left it at that.

Petunia sat down, feeling slightly dizzy. Here she was in a messy garden, with two witches and four wizards, and she felt absolutely helpless. 

"Mum and dad are going to kill you!" she stated at Lily.

"The most that'll probably happen is that I'll get grounded for the holidays, I'm not that bothered." Lily replied.

"Well, actually, you won't get punished because once these pranks wear out; an automatic memory charm takes place. No one will remember a thing." Remus grinned.

"That's right Lily-o! Now until then…care for this dance?" Sirius asked and is if on cue, some Spanish Salsa music deafened out all the bouncing, rolling opera singers. Before Lily could profoundly refuse, he had grabbed her and was already twirling her around the garden. It was a surprise that she hadn't tripped over anything. She was taken by surprise as Sirius somehow managed to throw her up in the air like a professional dancer. 'Either this is a spell, or Sirius has been dancing all his life.' Lily thought as she was caught by him and twirled around again. In fact, Sirius could pass as a Spanish dancer; all he needed now was to look a few years older, a bit stubblier and a rose stem to clench in his teeth. She also saw how Remus had managed to get Gladys into dancing too, except he wasn't as…err…well, he didn't so a Sirius. James was trying his best to ignore Petunia's glances at him, and Peter was looking slightly flustered at having to stand in between the two. Lily would have laughed, if she had the chance. It was highly amusing.

Petunia couldn't wait any longer and asked if she could dance with James. He looked slightly sceptical but hid it. But he gave in, only because she was starting to pout and whine. 'Dammit!' he thought as she danced, and he just kind of swayed. But as sheer luck would have it, a loose dungbomb on his belt fell and exploded by Petunia. She screamed and everyone stopped and stared at her. She was covered with the stench and looked livid. 

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?!" she accused. James eyes widened slightly shocked.

"Sorry princess! It was an accident!" he defended himself.

"I'll give you an accident!" she screeched turning red and stomped on his foot. Her heel digging into his foot.

"Oh…BUGGER!" He yelled as the pain shot through him. She smirked and turned around huffily. Flicking her hair in a dismissive manner. But James wasn't going to let himself get treated like that…especially to a junior, and a girl! He grabbed something in his pocket. It was an egg. He saw Sirius grinning at him and Remus and Gladys look slightly amused. Lily just wondered what the hell it was, well, apart from an egg.

He threw it.

Splat! Right on target. Right slap bang on her head. She stood stock still as the purple goo from the egg ran down her. The goo seemed come to life… Petunia screamed as it started to make a noise and ran, trying to fling it off. But the goo started to turn into a fluffy purple fuzz ball and started to chase Petunia. All of them burst out laughing at the sight. Petunia who hated exercise was running around being chased by this purple thing and it was absolutely hilarious. 

"What the hell is that James?" she managed to ask through her laughter.

"That is the latest craze for us prank-players. It's called an Apollo and it becomes immediately attached to the first thing it sees. And it doesn't leave until the one person who it's attached to apologises for his or her wrong." James grinned. 

They all watched with amused expression as the Apollo chased after Petunia. She didn't seem to have heard James' explanation and had no idea how to get rid of it. She just screamed. She finally had some sense and ran inside to the downstairs toilet. Locking herself inside. The Apollo waited outside, bouncing by the door happily, waiting for her. After a while of cursing she finally heard footsteps come to the door.

"Petty, if you want the fuzz ball to leave you alone you'll have to apologise to James. It's your own fault you know! You brought this on yourself!" Lily warned her. Lily heard a huffy 'fine!' come from her. She called James over.

"I'm sorry." Petunia said finally.

"Oh? That was a bit pathetic. I think you should put some more sympathy into that 'sorry.'" James told her. He could basically see her fuming and grinned. Lily playfully hit him on the shoulder but grinned all the same.

"Fine….I'm….ugh…I'm _sorry." Petunia finally said. The puffy fuzz ball stopped bouncing and turned into an egg again. The door clicked open and Petunia glared at Lily and James._

"I hate you!" she commented and stomped up the stairs.

"The feeling's mutual!" he called back up at her. The door slammed. At that, Lily burst out laughing.

***

A/N: Hi everybody! Remember me? No? Thought not! Lol! I looked back at my last chapter and I told you all there wouldn't be a long lack of updates .! Sorry! I never meant for Writer's Block to happen! It was a mistake I tell you! And I was lost for ideas too! For pranks! Don't get me wrong, all of them were VERY good and better than anything I could've come up with, but I just couldn't seem to write them. They were your ideas. Not mine. So, I couldn't write them. I hope you all liked my pitiful attempt at writing some pranks…I'm not the funniest person around, so pranks just don't come to me naturally! 

Also, sorry if this chapter is a crappier then the others! Lily's kick ass attitude will be back and I won't be making Sirius a professional Spanish Dancer ever again (not unless you want me too)! I say that he was under a spell and he could to that! How he managed to defy the M.O.M is beyond my reasoning…but expect him to be back to Second Year at Hogwarts!

I am sorry for the lack of updates. Writers Block did set in and then exams strolled along. But come Friday and my exams will be OVER! And that means, more time for updates! 

So, if any of my old readers are reading…sorry for the lack of updates! If you know anyone who read this fic before I had my Writer's Block, could you tell them to come check out this chapter…please?

And new readers…feel free to tell a friend or two about my fic! ::stops self promoting her fic::!

Anyways…please review! I'll be your friend for life!


	12. Homey School

Chapter 12: Homey School.

For the next few weeks, there was an outright war between Lily and Petunia. And it was even harder for the girl's parents as the memory charm from their prank had erased everything that happened since the James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Gladys arrived. So when Petunia complained about the fuzzy purple ball chasing her, they had scolded her for making up lies and trying to get Lily into trouble. This just made her even angrier and she had refused to talk to anyone within her family, especially Lily.

But the weeks were quickly gone and it was time for school. September the first came on a Monday, so Petunia was spared of having to go to Kings Cross Station to drop off her older sister. Petunia barely acknowledged her older sister that morning and refused to hug her goodbye. Lily didn't mind, she didn't think of herself as a huggable person. So, when Petunia left for school, the car was packed and ready to go. 

The journey was rather uneventful. They passed the same fields and towns until they reached the train station.

'Finally!' Lily thought as she stepped out of the car and stretched her cramped muscles. She hoisted her rucksack onto her back and carried Ravis' cage. Her father took out the trunk and managed to get her a trolley. Lily searched around the train station for any sign of Gladys, Sirius, James, Remus or Peter. She couldn't see any robes but then she told herself that they'd probably be dressed as muggles. 

After saying her goodbyes to her parents – the usual 'take care', 'work hard' and whatnot – she ran into the familiar barrier.

The red steam engine shone in all its glory and whistled out loud, welcoming all the students on board. Lily walked down the many carriages and finally found one carriage which had relatively empty compartments. She collapsed onto the chair of the compartment and managed to find the old comic she had packed into her bag. She rested her legs on the chair opposite her and went into the world of superheroes saving the largest cities in the world with their superhuman strength. It wasn't long until her compartment door slid open and she saw Gladys smiling down at her.

"Hi Lily!" she greeted.

"Hey Gladys!" Lily replied and smiled. She then saw Gladys' disapproving gaze on at her feet. She sheepishly put them down and grinned. 

"So how's you, and your sister for that matter?" Gladys asked a sly grin coming to her face.

"Well, I'm great. Petty's mad at me. I don't blame her though, I'd be mad at me if I was her." Lily replied with nonchalance.

Gladys just laughed. But she had to agree, it must have been quite a nasty shock for Lily's sister, not that she didn't deserve it.

The train started to move and the girls basically talked about what had happened to them between Lily's birthday and the start of school. As Gladys was talking about the new broomstick she' like to have, a small explosion was heard, followed by a lot of laughing and some screaming. Lily and Gladys popped their head out of their compartment to see James, Sirius, Remus and Peter laughing their head's off and an angry looking brunette. Her usually sleek straight hair was in a frizz and her freckles had some how been enlarged to the size of warts. Her clothes which had been baby blue before were now neon green. Lily stood for a second just staring at her, and then burst out laughing. It seriously reminded her of Petty. Gladys looked as if she was trying to hold her laughter in, but some slight giggles did escape her.

The four boys spotted Lily and Gladys and headed towards their compartment. They collapsed into their chairs and tried to return to a normal breathing rate.

"I'd told you we'd find them this way!" Sirius grinned and dug his elbow into Peter's side. He just smiled back.

"You mean you purposefully attacked that innocent girl to find us?" Gladys suddenly looked slightly disapproving.

"Are you crazy?! Innocent…her? She practically jumped Remus! And she called it 'flirting' when we tried to save him!" James exasperated.

"That's just a slight exaggeration, she only clung on to my arm and refused to let go." Remus said truthfully. "It was starting to get rather annoying when I needed to go to the toilet." Lily just laughed again as she imagined her amber-eyed friend desperately trying to get this hormone-ridden girl off of him.

The six friends spent the rest of the journey talking about the holidays and about school…and how to ruin the Slytherins. James seemed to be particularly excited about Quidditch and that he was going to try out for the House Team. Everyone thought he'd make it because during their flying lessons in first year, James had been an extraordinary flier. But the talk of Quidditch started to bore Lily so she tuned them out and gazed outside the window. The country was getting wilder, the weather drearier and the day darker. She dozed off as the country speeded past her.

The train jerked to a stop and Lily woke with a sudden as she felt someone fall on to her. Peter looked up at her sheepishly.

"Get off me Pete!" she growled and pushed him off, making him stumble back to his seat.

"Oh! Someone's a little cranky after her little nap!" Sirius grinned.

"Unless you want a beating I suggest that you get out of here! " Lily warned him. He was right; she was just a tad moody. 

The group of friends followed the crowds of students to the horseless carriages that lead to school. They were glad to get back into their school. It felt homey and they were thankful for the warmth that showered them once they managed to get inside.  It had been quite blustery that day and the wind stung their eyes.

Lily saw again the Sorting ritual taking place. She couldn't believe that just last year she had come to this school. It already seemed a lifetime.  The usual announcements took place with the cheerful eyes of their headmaster Professor Dumbledore and soon afterwards, everyone was tucked into their food, eating heartily. 

***

_The canopies above her eclipsed all the light. Was it day? Or maybe night? She couldn't tell. She looked around her. Trees. Everywhere trees. They seemed to be leaking with a black sap. The sap smelled horrible and the very air she breathed seemed to be poisoning her slowly. The wind caressed her and blew hair from her face. But this wind wasn't comforting. As it blew past, she could hear whispers. Threatening whispers. All around her. The whispers seemed to grow. The trees had eyes. Dark endless chasms they were. Then there was a rustle…_

Lily's eyes snapped open and she saw the canopy of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and felt that her skin was covered in a thin sheen of cold sweat. 'Bollocks! What was that about?!'

***                                                                                                                         

A/N: Hi everybody! Sorry for that long delay, but Writer's Block settled on me again! I really had no idea about how to get their journey back to school interesting! And I know that their journey wasn't as interesting as the first! And sorry about the title of this chapter because I honestly think it's a bit shite!  But anywhoo…

I now know a little bit about what's going to happen in Lily's Second year, so I guess that's good! All I'm saying is that Lily's going to find out that the wizarding world has it's bad points as well! Please review!!!


	13. A Sirius Moment

Chapter 13: A Sirius Moment. 

The pupils at the school started to grow accustomed to waking up in the earlier hours to get ready for their lessons. The teachers relished in adding - and in some cases deducting - house points from the four houses. Life seemed to be back to normal for Lily. She wasn't restricted from her magic anymore and she felt free. Of course there was the occasional crack about her being muggle born from the Slytherin's, but she managed to throttle them afterwards. How she managed to get away with it was anybody's guess. 

James was getting increasingly excited about trying for the Quidditch team. He spent a lot of time after lessons on his broomstick and Lily had to admit that he seemed to be a natural. He would move swiftly in the air, avoiding Sirius who would throw water balloons (that would burst with a rather peculiar sound) up at him. It was actually quite a good practice as the water balloons would second for bludgers. James would often tease Sirius from his broomstick saying that he'd never make it as a Beater or a Chaser in a Quidditch team. Of course Sirius wouldn't stand for that so he'd start throwing hexes and jinxes instead of the water balloons. 

By the time the 'practice' ended, they'd both come down hairy or with as added limb.

***

A week later, on Sunday night, Lily pondered over her Transfiguration homework.

"Gladys, what's that spell that turns a bottle into a shoe horn?" Lily asked while they were studying. 

"_Hiperthium." Gladys said not looking up from her book._

Lily waved her wand and enunciated the word as clearly as she could. The bottle remained the same. She frowned and tried again. 'Hey! It changed colour…is that a good thing?' She tried again. 'That doesn't look…err…natural.' She tried again. 'Crap!' She waved her wand again a final time and the bottle scrunched itself up. She screamed in frustration and started stabbing at it until it caught on fire.

"Shit!" Lily cursed and started to try and wave the fire out.

"_Aqueous." Gladys said clearly, the fire was bathed in water and went out. The bottle was now reduced to cinders._

"If you don't mind me saying, I think you might just need a tutor." Gladys said closing her book and looking at Lily.

"You think?" Lily snarled sarcastically and threw her wand down on the table.

"I would tutor you, but I'm not the best at Transfiguration myself. You should ask James or Sirius. They're quite good at it. And anyway, they might put you out of your foul mood." Gladys said, completely ignoring Lily's harshness. She was used to her mood-swings. Lily scowled at her but she knew she was right. She continued sitting on her spot, not letting her know that she knew she was right.

"Lily Evans! You will go upstairs right now and ask for their help. Grovel if you have to, otherwise you'll be walking around with a rather uncomfortable wedgie. Now get moving!" She said threateningly. 

"You do that and you'll be walking around with more than tight underpants!" Lily challenged her. Gladys smirked.

"Oh? You do that and I'll tell _him about __you know what and_ you know who._" Gladys grinned as Lily's composure fell a little._

"Oh yeah? Then I'll tell _him about __you know what and _you know where_ and _you know why_!" Lily said grinning._

"Lily, I don't have a '_him, you know what and you know why!'" Gladys told her._

"You don't? Damn! That was last year wasn't it!" Gladys nodded at that.

"Fine you win this round!" Lily grinned.

"Yep. Now like I said, go and see if James or Sirius will help you. Otherwise I'll do all the things I said I would." Gladys warned and went back to her book. Lily grumbled as she went up the stairs muttering something about 'she always wins.' She took the stairs two at a time and walked down the silent corridor. As was customary to her, she barged into the door on the right. 

As soon as she entered, she heard a rather girly scream and a lot of tumbling to the shared bathroom.

"Honestly Lily! Can a man not change in the decency of his own dorm?!" Sirius' voice called from the bedroom.

"A man? You keep telling yourself that pip-squeak!" Lily said laughing and shaking her head.

"Ha ha." Sirius replied as the door opened. "I bet you'd make the same noise if some guy barged in on your dorm when you were half naked! And anyway, you really should learn how to _knock. Not just simply barge in with no invitation!" he said huffily. _

"Well, I've been doing it for over a year now, you'd think you'd know not to change in the decency of your own dorm, but with your bed curtain drawn or in your bathroom." Lily argued back. They stood in silence for a while.

"Do you even listen to yourself when you talk?!" Sirius asked raising his eyebrow. Lily stood their shocked for a while. 

"Alright, I deserved that. I'm sorry Sirius, I'll _try_ to knock next time, can't make any promises though." She warned with a sly grin. Sirius just looked at her and shook his head muttering under his breath.

"So, what's up?" he asked.

"I need help on some Transfig stuff. Can you help?" she asked.

"My, is Lily dearest falling behind in her school work. Tsk tsk. You should be most ashamed of yourself!" Sirius mocked. 

"Ha ha." Lily mocked laughed like Sirius had done earlier.

"Alright, then I'll help. Now, step into my humble classroom and Professor Black will show you how it's all done! Never once has he got it wrong and he never will, let me assure you!" Sirius said, self promoting himself and grinning. Lily shook her head and sat at the end of his bed.

They started with the small spells, which annoyed Lily most profoundly. It was the 'needle to pin' change all over again. What made her even madder was the fact that she couldn't do it! This was first year work and she had forgotten it all. 

Sirius sighed; this was going to be a long night! 

A couple of hours later and she finally got it.

It took a maximum of 79 tries to turn the needle to a pin. That was of course, without the puff of purple smoke forming.  After that they went on to other small items like a ring to a ring-pull, a test tube to a quill, and a sock to a piece of parchment. It was dark outside by the time she managed to get the hang of it.

"Ok, now let's try the bottle to the shoe-horn. Try hard and pronounce it properly." Sirius said as he placed the bottle on the bed.

"_Hiperthium." Lily said as she waved her wand. Nothing happened._

"Say it like you mean it!" Sirius said as she waved her wand again. It still remained the same shape.

"_Hiperthium." Lily said a little louder._

"My cat could probably do this better than you. Try harder Lily!" he commented.

"_HIPERTHIUM!" Lily yelled out loud waving her wand._

A huge puff of smoke engulfed them and they started to cough and splutter at it. Lily covered her eyes as they started to tear from it. Sirius squeezed them shut tightly hoping beyond hope that Lily hadn't completely destroyed his bed. But as the hazy smoke began to disappear, where the bottle stood, there was now a bright blue shoe horn in its place. Sirius opened his eyes and waved away any of the lingering smoke.

"Lily! You did it! Don't know how but you did it!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I did?" Lily asked as she removed her hands from her eyes. She saw the gleaming blue shoe horn shining in all its glory.

"I DID!" Lily yelled triumphantly. "I AM THE BEST!" Lily exclaimed and grinned ear to ear. Sirius just grinned and let her preen from her mountain top. And to his utter surprise, she hugged him.

"Thank you! Thank you! I never knew that a complete ass could save my ass in Transfig! You're the best Sirius!" She said whilst hugging him.

"I resent the 'ass' bit on my behalf but yeah, you're welcome!" Sirius said and hugged her back. Happy of her accomplishment. Lily laughed and let him go. She then picked up the shoe horn and admired the shoe horn.

"This is the best ever shoe horn ever." Lily commented.

"Bet I could make a better one." Sirius muttered loud enough so she could hear.

"Hey, don't steal my thunder." Lily pouted and playfully hit him on the arm.

"Sorry. But I don't know about you but I'm bloody tired. So go away so I can go to sleep." Sirius said and shooed her off his bed.

"Well that's nice." Lily said rolling her eyes as she got off clutching her shoe horn and wand. She made for the door.

"What you're not going to tuck me in? No bedtime story? No lullaby? No good night kiss?" Sirius asked and pouted a little.

"Hey, I'm no mother, if I tuck you in, you'll be cocooned like a caterpillar.  I don't have any decent bedtime stories and I'm no good at singing." Lily said, ticking off everything on his list.

"Well, what about a goodnight kiss?" he asked grinning mischievously.

He didn't actually expect her to do it. His eyes slammed open when he felt her lips pressed against his kissing him softly and showing no sign of timidity. So he did the only thing he could, and kissed her back. A short time afterwards they separated and both were more than a little flushed. She smiled.

"Goodnight you ass."

***

A/N: Wow! 200 reviews…that's a lot! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm chuffed with every single review I get and I never expected to get more than 100 on this story! Honestly, you all kick immense ass! So…here is the first part of the Sirius-Lily-James love triangle thing that has been hinted about in the story. I was a bit unsure as to whether they should kiss at 12, I was debating it in my head and I just thought I'd be a rebel and go for it. I also noticed that I'm completely leaving out Gladys, and I like Gladys, so I'll need to slam her in a couple of more scenes. Oh…and it's quite cool, because I finally have some idea of where I'm going with this! So, yeah, it should hopefully be more enjoyable for you to read!

**Gary Skinner: Do you by any chance write fanfics on this site? Because I'm sure you're a great author! You're reviews are like a miniature report on each chapter! If you do come to write on this site, tell me, because I'd really love to read your fics! **

**beyond infinity: I really hope you like this chapter because I spent my whole bloody evening writing this when I really should have been doing homework and practicing my violin for the music recording thing. If I sound crap tomorrow, I'm blaming you! : p Lol…only josking! **


	14. Of Tryouts and Friends

Chapter 14: Of Try-outs and Friends

The next few days were a little bit awkward. Both would flush a little in the other's presence, and they weren't unnoticed. James and Peter would snicker a little and laugh out loud at the evil look their friend gave them. Remus was a little more sympathetic and gave his friend's encouraging smiles. Gladys thought the whole thing was extremely, well, cute. Seeing the school's rebel and jokester together and blushing was just sweet. 

Thankfully, the whole school wasn't aware of it, for now. But both Lily and Sirius had a sneaking suspicion that one of their friend's would crack and blurt it out, either by accident or just to be purposefully mean. 

Lily and Sirius managed to make themselves look like they always used to. Starting unnecessary brawls in the Common Room, arguing about nothing in particular, Lily helping with a prank, Sirius helping her with Transfiguration, detentions, you know, the usual things they got up to.  So, no one suspected. It was just little things like knowing smiles, and certain looks that might have given them away.

***

James sat at the Gryffindor table, stirring his breakfast around on his plate. He was there in the ungodly hours of the morning, trying to eat something before Quidditch try-outs, but he always felt his stomach quench and he couldn't muster the will to eat the eggs, toast and baked beans on his plate. There were very few people up, some other older Gryffindor's, people from opposing houses and the off Professor strolling in for a cup of coffee. 

Sirius was most probably in bed, snoring his head off, as was Peter. Both weren't morning people. Remus was away at home visiting his mother, who had  been feeling ill recently. Lily was most probably in her dorm, either sleeping or complaining about their not being enough hours in the night. Gladys would probably start making her way down for breakfast.

James sighed again and took a sip of his juice. He held onto his broomstick, rather grippingly. 'Everything will be alright. I can do this.' He kept saying that to himself, like a constant mantra in his hear.  James looked at his watch and decided to make his way to the Quidditch stadium. Make a good impression by getting their early, shows enthusiasm.

The cool morning air was fresher than ever. The sun shone around the golden grounds, as a breeze blew around the red-golden trees. Autumn was always a good time for Quidditch. As he approached the stadium, he gradually became less nervous. How many times had he come and sat in the stands, watched the Quidditch practices and games? This stadium was like a second home. There was no reason for his nervousness. 

James stood in a line with all the others who were to tryout. He watched the other's fly, catch the balls, and throw them through the hoops, dodging makeshift bludgers. He scrutinised some of them, their technique wasn't right for the game. They swung round, when a sharp turn was lot more effective. They dipped lightly when they should have dived. And some people simply didn't have what it took to get the Quaffle through the hoops. They didn't have the upper-body strength. They'd have to work harder if they wanted to get into the team.

"Potter! You're up next!" The captain called from above.

James nodded and kicked off on his broomstick, rising above the stands. The familiar feeling of air all around him made him more awake, and certainly more confident. Suddenly the Quaffle was launched at him, he caught it at ease and made his way to the post. Dodging all the other member's of the team easily and passing it through the Keeper's grasp. He caught the Quaffle again as a Bludger was launched at him. James kept his cool and swerved as the roaring black ball shot passed him, with the speed of the wind, he slammed the Quaffle through the hoop effortlessly. He turned to face the entire team; they all looked like they'd seen a ghost or something. Then the sound of cheering and applauding came from the stands. James looked down to see Gladys jumping up and down like a maniac, creating a racket which five people would normally make. James grinned down at her and waved. She waved back, jumping up and down cheering him. 

"Alright Potter, we'll be in touch," said the captain of the team, his mouth still open from the display. James nodded, smiling and then set down to land.

***

"Honestly Lily! You should have seen him! He was zooming around the whole pitch; he looked like a blur from the speed he was going! It was amazing, even when the whole team were against him, he scored all the time! You should have seen it!" Gladys said animatedly, filling Lily in on all that she had missed that morning.

"Then why didn't you wake me up! I would've loved to see James in action!" Lily complained. Gladys just raised her eyebrow.

"I'm not that crazy you know," Gladys said smiling cheekily. Lily mocked anger and lightly hit her on the arm.

They sat in the Common Room for most of the afternoon. Not really bothered on catching up with homework, and just laughing and playing games. As the sky darkened outside, the warm fire grew larger and more people entered the room for socialising. The room grew noisier, so Lily and Gladys retreated to their dorms.

The Portrait swung open and James and Sirius came in, each helping Remus, who looked beyond ill. He had a slightly sweated brow, but was looking pale. He trembled a little as he walked and his amber eyes stood out ethereally. The three boys stumbled their way into the dorm and lay Remus down on his bed. 

"You really don't look to good, are you sure you don't want to go to Madam Pomfrey?" Sirius asked his friend worriedly.

"I'll be fine. I may have caught a slight temperature from my mother, I'll just sleep it off," Remus said reassuringly to his friends.

"You sure? We can easily go and get her; she can give you some medicated potion." James inquired. 

"I'll honestly be ok, no need to get her and cause any commotion." Remus smiled weakly.

"All right then. Sleep well Remus," Sirius grinned at his friend and led James out of the room. The two sat away from the mirth of the Common Room, both wearing serious expressions on their faces. 

"You felt it too?" Sirius whispered. James nodded.

"I wonder how he managed to get that scar."

***

A/N: I am really sorry that I didn't update sooner…I really did have a bad case of Writer's Block. I had no idea where to go after that last chapter. But now I'm back in the flow of things! I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I really need to speed up a few things so that I can get on with this story! I have some future plans that I really want to write about so, I'm speeding things up, and hopefully I'll be back to posting a chapter a week or so! Anyways, I'm sure you can see where this chapter will lead up to! I've got that part all planned out and I'll try and go into more detail with the Lily/Sirius fluff! I'm also contemplating putting James and Gladys together…hmmm…we'll all have to wait and see!


	15. Whispers and Lycanthropy

Chapter 15: Whispers and Lycanthropy

Over the next few days, James and Sirius kept a close watch on Remus, observing his reactions to things and all the while doing some research secretly. Lily and Gladys had nearly gone to Hospital Wing when they saw the two boys come in with volumes of books on curse wounds. 

"What are you doing with those?" Lily asked incredulously. Sirius turned and grinned at her.

"Thinking of how we can give Slytherin's one of these babies!" he opened one of the books and it showed her a pictured of a wizard that had a particularly nasty gnash on his back. Both Lily and Gladys looked at each other a little worryingly, would those two really go as far as doing that to Slytherins?

***

The autumn soon came to pass as winter. The trees were stripped of their leaves, and the tumbling grey clouds overhead promised snowfall within a couple of days. Lily climbed up to the roof of Gryffindor tower, a cloak and scarf at hand. She laid her back on the ancient tiles and watched the sky overhead. It was midday, lunch would be served soon. 

Although she lay there, her mind wandered back to the dream she had that morning. Woods, trees, a forest, a dark foreboding forest. The trees, they had eyes, chasms of darkness staring at her, stripping her down, seeing inside her, seeing her soul. Cold eyes, dripping with a black sap, it was evil. She shouldn't have been there. And a whisper, a voice.

_Li…………_

Lily shut her eyes, keeping the darkness at bay.

_……ly……_

It was haunting. 

_…Lil………_

Repeated over and over again.

_…ee………_

A cold, whisper, it would freeze you to the bone.

_……………Lily……_

Her eyes snapped open. She had heard it. Not thought it, not imagined it, she had _heard it. She sat up and she faced the forest behind her. Her green eyes skimmed over the canopies, hopefully searching for the source of the voice. _

_………Lily………_

Her eyes glazed over.  She stood up and faced the forest. One foot in front of the other. Walking up the slope of the tower, towards the spire, eyes never blinking, watching the forest before her.

_……Lil……_

"Lily! Where are you?" 

She snapped out of her reverie. Her eyes seemed to start focussing again and she suddenly wondered why she was clutching at the spire of the tower. Hadn't she just been sitting on the tiles? Lily felt a little dazed and started to shiver. What had happened? She wrapped her cloak tightly around herself.

"Lily?!  It's lunch time. Better come down soon!" Gladys' voice sounded. The red haired girl carefully climbed her way down to the window. Gladys waited for her, at the bottom of the staircase.

"Are you ok? You look a little pale." Gladys asked her friend, a little worriedly while taking helping her friend with her cloak. Lily didn't answer for a while. But then smiled indifferently.

"I'm alright Gladys. Just thinking that I had forgotten my Aunt's birthday." Lily said lamely.  I Gladys bought the excuse, she didn't show it.

"Well let's go get some lunch, get some colour back into your face."

***

Days came and went. It was soon time to go home for Christmas. Lily's parents had insisted on her being home for Christmas, since last year's had not been so successful. Lily didn't have the heart to refuse. Gladys was going home as she had promised o do so every Christmas for her family. James and Sirius however, had decided to stay for the Christmas holidays. James' mother Nancy, had been asked to go to a laboratory for further developments for work, although she was pretty peeved at having to spend the holidays away from her only son. But James had told her mother that he was fine staying at Hogwarts and that Sirius and Remus were staying for company. Peter was going to visit his grandmother again, as was tradition for his family.

That evening, the common room was so quiet. Only the three boys and a few 6th Years had stayed in for the holidays. As the night wore on, the three played chess and exploding snap and gobstones. IT wasn't until quite late that Remus stood up.

"I'm not feeling too well you guys. I'm going to go to Hospital Wing." Remus said indifferently.

"Do you want us to come with you?" James asked, concerned.

"No, I'll be fine. It's probably just a stomach bug," Remus smiled at his friend and left the Common Room. Once he left, James and Sirius headed for their dorms. They closed the door and looked solemnly at each other.

"So it's true." James said to no one in particular.

"It's a full moon tonight." Sirius replied, confirming it.

All the signs led up to it. The slight mood swings, the alert senses, the illnesses, the symptoms, and most importantly, the eyes. No one, no matter what creature they were, had amber eyes, except werewolves. And in a bedside photo Remus had had, his eyes then hadn't been amber.

"I can't believe he has lycanthropy." Sirius muttered sadly. 

"Yeah, no wonder he was so thrilled when he got his letter for Hogwarts. And I remember when I first met him, he used to be kind of subdued and never really wanted to mix with others." James remembered the pale boy always standing away from the crowds.

"He's been keeping it secret for so long. He was probably afraid we'd abandon him if he told us." 

"I wish we could help his some how." 

The stood in silence for a while, thinking of their friend. They skimmed through the books of werewolf activity, and had wondered how their best friend had managed to go through such torture. Sirius opened a book  - 'Beast of a Creature.' It had basically every single type of beast-like creature possible to imagine, and he opened it on the Werewolf section.

_Werewolves can be calmed in the presence of animals. It's cravings for man-flesh is at its weakest point when with animals of a different species._

Sirius' brow got lost somewhere into his hairline. He read and re-read the line over and over. As if each word was the most sacred word ever created. He looked at the school emblem engraved on his bed, a badger, a raven, a snake, a lion.

He suddenly grinned so widely, his face could have spilt in half.

"James, would you like to become animagus?"

***

A/N: Wooo! I'm on a roll! Getting more chapters up and whatnot! I know the chapters are kind of short, but I really want to get this story moving, it's been lingering here, unfinished for too long, and I have to get through 7 bloody years! Argh…why do I do this?...you can remind me in your reviews! (hint)

**Crystra-Astra: James is NOT seeker. He was only made a seeker in the film to make it all the more poignant. But JKR did say in an interview that James was a CHASER. So you get _your_ facts right sweetie before you start ranting off to people with false information.  **


	16. Lily's Rage

Chapter 16: Lily's Rage.

Lily tossed and turned in her bed, but no matter what, she couldn't sleep. Everyone else in her dorm was slumbering away quite peacefully from what she could see. She envied them right now. She wasn't usually hit with bouts of insomnia. It wasn't too stuffy, and it wasn't too cold, and her bed was very comfortable. All in all, she found it quite strange that she couldn't sleep. 

She quietly slipped through the curtains of her four-poster bed and tip-toed to the door. There was no use in doing nothing. She entered the darkened red common room, the fireplace showing a few burning embers, the windows slightly open letting in the night breeze. She looked at the clock and saw the hand pointing to 'You should be in bed!'  Bollocks to that.  She wasn't tired, so she wasn't going to go to bed. And there was no one here telling her to do so. She settled onto a chair by the fireplace and stared at the burning embers, strangely reminiscent to the colour of her hair. It was then she heard it.

_Li…ly…_

Her head snapped in the direction of the window. She stepped off of her chair and slowly paced to the window, cautiously. This…prank, that was what it was, was growing old. She opened the window and took a look outside. Pass the lake, into the forests beyond.

_Lil…leee…_

"Stop it." She whispered to the voice.

_Lily…_

She slammed the windows shut, locking it at every clasp. Locking out the wind that carried the voice to her.

"Lily?" asked a voice behind her. She did a double and turned around, looking very pale.

"James!" She managed to gasp out looking from vulnerably scared, to angry. "Don't do that!"

"Don't do what?" James asked confused.

"You know what I mean James. You and Sirius thinking you'd get a laugh doing that, well it isn't funny anymore. Leave me alone!" She nearly yelled and ran up the stairs to her dorm. James stood in a stunned silence. 'Ok, what was that all about?' James thought. He picked up the invisibility cloak he had dropped at the foot of the doorway and headed to his own room, confused and a little bit angry.

***

Lily was in a foul mood the next morning. Having not slept for most of the night, she was not happy when the morning came. She also felt a bit guilty at snapping at James the night before. She shook off those thoughts as she rushed through the corridors. The school seemed to be a bit of a bur as she walked by. The paintings weren't clear, and the people she passed by were just blobs of colour. She shook this off. 'Maybe I'm coming down with a  fever.' She thought. 'Stupid weaknesses.' She thought angrily as she headed for Transfiguration.

She turned the corner and bashed into none other than Lucius Malfoy himself. Both fell back onto the floor.

"Mudblood! Watch where you're going!" He shouted at her. 

"Say that again Malfoy and I swear I'll kill you, you little pansy," She retorted picking up her things. She then yelped in pain as his foot slammed down on her fingers.

"A Mudblood could never kill a wizard so superior to itself. All of your kind are not even worthy to be under my shoe, consider yourself lucky." He sneered, and kicked everything in her bag askew with his other foot, still keeping her hand pinned down. He then laughed a little.

"Honestly Mudblood, this is the way it should be. The scum of the universe begging down to us." He smirked.

Lily seethed with anger, her face going red with rage. She painfully pulled her hand from under his shoe. It was already red and raw with pain. She clenched her hands tightly and glared daggers at Malfoy. Totally forgetting about her wand she swung her hand back and landed a punch right on Malfoy's nose. 

"YOU AND YOU'RE BLOODY OBSESSION WITH PUREBLOOD SUPERIORITY!" She yelled after he fell backwards once again on the floor now, clutching a bloodied nose. 

"I CAN DO JUST AS MUCH MAGIC AS YOU! IF YOU SAY ONE MORE THING ABOUT _MY_ INFERIORITY SO HELP ME I'LL MAKE SURE YOU DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH!" She exploded, she looked on fire. Malfoy smirked at her.

"Believe me, if anyone will die a slow and painful death, it will be you. And you know why? Because you're a Mudblood. The revolution has already begun, and I'm going to make sure you're one of the first to die." He said coldly 

Lily felt herself burn up, all this rage, anger and hatred just powered over her,  flowed through the very blood in her veins. This raw magic emanated through her being, and she literally was on fire. But it didn't burn her skin, Malfoy didn't even think she noticed the fire surrounding her. The fire escaped her and shot directly at Malfoy, his eyes widened in horror as he tried to escape it. The stream of fire passed right over the top of him. His platinum blonde hair now singed and burned, as was the carpet around him.

"MISS EVANS!" boomed a voice from behind her. Lily spun around to face a very livid looking Professor McGonagall.

"What in Merlin's name do you think you are doing?!" She shouted. Lily stood silently angry, and glared at her teacher.

"I'm dealing with the bullshit I have to put up with from him!" She shouted back, pointing at Malfoy.

"Mind your tongue Miss Evans. By the looks of it, Mr Malfoy seems to have put up with a lot more! 40 Points off Gryffindor, for your serious lack of attention for school rules, and detention. Mr Malfoy, please head up to Hospital Wing. Miss Evans, to class." She said. Lily quickly picked up her school equipment sprawled on the floor and headed for class, sulking slightly at her misfortune. Malfoy got up and dusted himself off, picking up his school bag. 

"A beating by a _girl better be worth this task," he growled under his breath. _

***

The news of the fight between Lily and Lucius had spread around the school like wildfire. But what no one had known about it was that Lily had done wandless magic. Lily didn't talk much about the fight and glared at anyone who had asked her about it.  She was in no mood to talk to anyone about it and why it had happened.  

She was surprised that McGonagall hadn't noticed that it had been raw magic, with the use of no wand. But her wand and other school equipment had been sprawled all over the floor thanks to Malfoy, so she probably thought she had used her wand. Lily was surprised at herself. At that moment the fire burned around her, she had intended to hurt Malfoy really badly, perhaps even kill him. 'Don't be stupid, Malfoy's a prick, but you don't want to kill the bastard of Slytherin.' The thought scared her a little. She wasn't a murderous homicidal maniac. She shoved the thoughts to the back of her head, just as she shoved her sprouts to the back of her plate at dinnertime. She had been silent all throughout dinnertime. Gladys took the hint to not talk to her right now, but nevertheless, she sat opposite her.

"Was I out of line?" Lily thought aloud.

"Many of us would pay to hit Malfoy in the face, even if it did cost 40 points. It was a gift in the offing for you to hit him," Gladys said as she munched on a carrot. Lily smiled a little as she shoved about her mashed potato. 

"If you're not hungry, you could give the food to Sirius, he's attempting to break the record of eating the most food before dessert." Gladys pointed to the other end of the table. Lily looked up, and sure enough, there was a crowd around him, as he guzzled down as much food as possible.

"I don't think Sirius would trust me if I gave him my food. But Gladys, have you seen James? I need to talk to him." 

"I think he's in the library. Odd place for him to be isn't it!" Gladys smiled. Lily nodded and stood up.

"I'll see you in the common room." Lily said and headed out of the hall, knowing that the whole Slytherin table were glaring at her back.  

***

The Library was nearly empty, save for a few students sitting by the tables and scribbling down notes for homework. It didn't take too long for Lily to find the mop of black hair she was familiar to. He was standing by the Advanced Transfiguration section. She smiled.

"Sheesh…I knew you were good at Transfiguration, but don't you think it's a bit early for this stuff?" Lily asked. The black-haired boy lifted his head, meeting her gaze. 

"Erm…extra-credit." James muttered and hastily placed the book back in the shelf.

"Listen, can I talk to you for a second?" Lily asked. James nodded and together, they headed out of the library. They walked silently for a second until Lily lead them outside to the edge of the lake. They sat by the sandy banks as the breeze ruffled red curls and black locks.

"I…I want to apologise for last night…or really early in the morning, whichever you prefer." Lily said. James turned to look at her.

"You caught me at a bad time, I guess I'm a bit cranky in the morning, and I was a little paranoid I guess." Lily continued, not meeting James' face.

"Paranoid about what?" James asked. Lily shook her head.

"Nothing. It wasn't right for me to take it out on you; I guess my redhead temper sometimes gets the better of me. First you, then Malfoy. I don't know, today's been rough, and I guess I just kind of took on you and which you don't deserve, and Malfoy, which he did deserve."  Lily said, turning to face him. James smiled.

"Water under the bridge," he replied holding out his hand. Lily smiled and shook it. "Let's head back inside, it's never good staying out for a long time on a cold November day."

They both stood up, and headed back into the castle, planning of ways to curse the hair off Malfoy's head. They never noticed the elegant Eagle Owl heading out, past the forest.  

***

A/N: Hello everyone! Firstly, I must apologise profusely for my serious lack of updates for the past…erm…months? L I'm sorry! I never meant to leave it for so long, but I have the curse of the block…Writer's Block to be precise, and I also have exams coming up which I had to revise for. So, I never had much time to update, and whatnot. I'm so sorry for leaving this for so long! Forgive me? Yes? No? Maybe? If you do forgive me…please review! J    


	17. Of Different Plans

Chapter 17: Of Different Plans

Through forests, quagmires and rivers, the majestic owl flew. Flying to his dark destination, to the south, a large manor awaiting his presence. After having to put up with the torrent weather that took place in November, he was ready for a break in his master's room. He flew through the large arched window, and landed elegantly on his silver perch, holding his leg out to his master. Gloved hands untied the letter, and stormy grey eyes scanned its content. The master smirked and disappeared through the fireplace.

***

Lily ran through the corridors of the school. This was the fourth time this week that she was late for class. She wouldn't normally have minded being late, but she couldn't face another detention right now. The Professor's thought it best to pile them with homework before the pupil's lethargy at Christmas time kicked in. Lily couldn't believe the pile of homework she was getting from every Professor, and she doubted Professor Fernhopper - the DADA teacher - would be lenient with her. She skidded to a halt in front of the classroom door and opened it with a crash. The first thing she saw was a flurry of black robes falling backwards.

"Really do watch what you are doing Mr Pettigrew!" a voice scolded from the other side of the room. Lily burst out laughing at Peter's dishevelled state on the ground, and helped him up. His hair was frazzled, his arms seemed limp and his skin had taken on a rather nasty shade of green.  

"As for you Miss Evans, your tardiness cannot go unpunished." Fernhopper continued. That shut Lily up. 'Please don't give me detention…'

"10 Points off Gryffindor." She announced and continued shuffling papers on her desk. Lily sighed and uttered a quick apology to Peter. She quickly sat on a desk. But not her usual one. She usually opted to desks near the windows, but she had been avoiding windows at all costs. No one knew why. Gladys thought she just might have changed her preferences. But she still noticed how Lily would sometimes peer to the window and look a little hot and bothered. She wondered why she was doing it, and when she questioned Lily on the subject, Lily simply shook her head and told Gladys she was being silly and probably just imagined it. Sure, she would be miffed with the reply, but she was sure Lily would tell eventually. 

Today's lesson was on counter curses. How to block simple curses, and they were to work in pairs. Remus had been Peter's partners, but he had been sent to hospital wing as several curses had ricocheted off of each other and hit Peter. Remus had ended up being partnered with her.

"Now remember everyone, a swirl of the wand and clear enunciation." Professor Fernhopper ranted on as she observed the paired students.

"Are you ready Lily?" Remus asked. She looked at him. He didn't look to well. Maybe he had the flu. His skin was paler and there were some slight bags under his eyes. Lily nodded. Remus raised his wand, taking a final glance at her. She didn't look to comfortable, she looked flustered, a bit red in the face and a sheen of perspiration lay on her brow. Her usually bright eyes took on a duller shade, but she looked determined to get through this lesson. 'Wow…suddenly I don't look too bad.' Remus thought as he sent a curse her way. She collapsed under the jelly-leg curse. Remus rushed over, and once again raised his wand to do the counter curse.

"Are you ok?" he asked as she got up.

"Yeah, only jelly-legs. I'm glad you didn't do something too damaging." She replied.

"No, I didn't mean that. Are _you_ alright? You don't seem to be your usual self," Remus started. Lily smiled at his concern. 

"I'm fine. I've seen better days, but I'll pull through. What about you? You look like you could do with some sleep." She stated.

"Sleep would be good around about now. But we don't always get what we want sometimes." He replied with a small smile.

"Tell me about it." Lily replied smiling in understanding. 

"Will you two stop chattering and get on with your work!" the irritable Professor exclaimed. Remus rolled his amber eyes and grinned at Lily. She laughed – she had never thought Remus to show cheek towards a professor. He walked to the other side of the classroom and awaited Lily's curse.

***

The blonde man fixed his robes and opened the door to the chamber. It was dimly lit, but the green lanterns gave enough light to illuminate the row upon row of robe-clad followers. And the person they followed was sitting upon his chair on the other side of the vast chamber. He raised his red eyes to the man and beckoned for him to proceed into the chamber. The man's footsteps echoed, and he graciously swept down onto one knee and bowed to the person before him. Voldemort looked down at the bowed man, testing him. When he still hadn't raised his head, he spoke.

"What news do you bring Malfoy?" He asked his voice deep yet charming. Many people had succumbed to the charm Tom Marvolo Riddle possessed, and as Voldemort, his charm flared on his trusty followers. 

"I have received word from my son, Lucius. He has carried out the task you asked of him, and has sent me back the results." The senior Malfoy raised his head to speak eye-to-eye with the Dark Lord, but hadn't risen from his crouched position.

"Let me see." Voldemort's deep voice commanded. Malfoy stood and handed the letter to his master. The room watched as their master's eyes swept across the parchment. His fiery red eyes seemed to glare even redder as he read the letter. He smirked as he finished it.

"You son deserves an honorary award Malfoy. I commend him." He said. His eyes flickered on the letter again. "As for this mudblood. She may be of some use." He commented. Several startled gasps swept throughout the crowd. A mudblood working with them? Had their master gone mad?

"She is already being watched. If things go as planned, she will come to us willingly," he said again, his eyes reading over the last line of the letter.

_She can provoke magic, without the use of a wand._

***

The library was completely dark when James and Sirius arrived. It was perfect. Sirius held the lantern as James manoeuvred them to the Restricted Section of the library under the Invisibility Cloak. They had found out that even the Advanced Transfiguration section of the library hadn't given any hints on becoming Animagus. They hadn't told Remus of their plan to become Animagus nor the fact that they knew he was werewolf. They still questioned him every month, and he either replied with his mother being ill or something came up at home. They had to ask him, even if he felt uncomfortable with replying to them – it would be out of character for them not to. If Remus were to find out their plan to become Animagus, they knew he would dissuade them. They would be breaking the law and he wouldn't want them in trouble. But both James and Sirius knew that he would have probably done the same if they were werewolves.

As for Peter, they felt a little upset at not telling them the plan, but Peter would never be one to break school rules, let alone a magical law. Also, both James and Sirius doubted his ability to actually become animagus. He had trouble doing the spells they were doing now, so there was no way he could have been able to cope with an Animagus spell. 

Both boys spent a long time looking for different books and volumes to help them.  They took a copy of _'Beastia' tore pages from _'Metamorphosis Matters'_ andscanned the different issues of the critically evaluated __'Human-to-Horror; The Mistakes NOT to Make.' After finding a bundle of the books needed, they silently walked the corridors of the castle to their dorm. Remus was away to a full moon tonight, and Peter slept like a log._

"And people think we don't study." Sirius muttered as he opened a copy of _'The Age of Transfiguration.' James smirked a little but carried on looking through the different books. They sat in silence, taking note of anything that may help them._

"It looks like we'll have to brew a potion if we want to become animagus." James stated as he reread a passage in his book.

"A potion? Great. Peter is the genius with Potions!" Sirius commented as he sifted through another book. "I haven't read this much since I lost my copy of 'Ellyn the Elephant.' The things I do for that boy." He continued to mutter. James grinned. The reason the book was lost was because he had hidden it. He was tired of Sirius quoting every single line of the book and had hidden it in the Black's attic. 

"Well, I'm sure Ellyn the Elephant would be proud of all the reading you are doing now." James smirked and turned the page of the book.

"Damn right she would!" Sirius agreed wholeheartedly and continued to go through the books. 

"Hey, I think mum should have a book somewhere at home which can tell us how to make the potion." James said, as he thought of his mother. 

"You think? Maybe she'll have the ingredients too." Sirius said while chewing on his quill.

"Yeah, she might. I'll have a look around in the holidays." James replied. 

"Well, I'm shattered. I'm going to sleep in tomorrow, so don't wake me up until noon." Sirius warned while shutting his book. James nodded and continued reading through the books until he felt his eyelids start to droop. Looking at the clock it head 'you should be in bed.' James for once agreed with it, and shut his book. He put them away and stretched. 

As he was about to climb in bed, he heard something down in the Common Room. It sounded like a crash. Curious, he stepped out of his dorm and down the spiralling stairs, to the Common Room. He looked at the main window and saw a large lightning-white crack running across it. Huddled in a little ball on the couch was a mass of dark red curls.

"Lily?" he asked. The girl jumped about a foot in the air. James noticed her deathly pale skin and that she was shivering.

"What's wrong?" he asked walking towards her. She didn't reply. She just continued to shiver. Her green eyes were dull as she looked at James. She looked dead brought back to life, but only just.

"N…nothing." She replied.

"Then why you down here, looking like a zombie?" He asked, sitting down next her. The expected punch on the arm didn't come.

"Because I want to!" she snapped.

"Fair enough." James replied. He turned to look at the window. "Lovely crack on the window."   

"Thanks, did it myself." Lily replied sardonically. "They wouldn't shut up, so I did it for them."

"Who wouldn't shut up?" James asked.

"Doesn't matter. I'm going to bed." Lily said getting up and walking up the staircase. James got up as well.

"Lily." He called. She stopped at the foot of the staircase.

"You can talk to me." James said simply. He saw her nod and head up the staircase.


End file.
